The House of Representatives has known as for pressing safety and humanitarian interventions following a lethal bandit assault on Binnari group in Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State, which reportedly left between 57 and 60 individuals useless.
The lawmakers additionally urged the federal authorities to finish the deserted Wase-Karim Lamido street venture to enhance safety operations and allow the fast deployment of safety personnel to affected communities.
The resolutions adopted a movement of pressing public significance moved by Mohammed Audu (APC, Taraba) throughout Thursday’s plenary.
Presenting the movement, Mr Audu stated the assault occurred on 23 October when merchants and residents gathered on the group market.
He stated the attackers opened hearth, killing 10 individuals on the scene, whereas the following panic precipitated a number of individuals to leap right into a river, bringing the reported demise toll to between 57 and 60.
According to the lawmaker, the attackers allegedly got here from forested areas in Plateau State, together with Dutsen Zaki in Wase Local Government Area, Kukawa in Kanam Local Government Area and areas across the Yankari Game Reserve and Gwana Mountain in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
He stated these areas shared boundaries with communities in Karim Lamido, making improved street entry and coordinated safety operations crucial to stop additional assaults.
Mr Audu described the incident as unprecedented in its scale in Karim Lamido, including that the affected communities had suffered significantly due to the dearth of entry roads.
“This type of deadly attack has never taken place in Karim Lamido Local Government; the people of Karim Lamido have suffered a lot. No access road leading to all these areas,” he stated.
He additionally reported one other assault on 26 October in neighbouring Gomben Dela group, the place the assailants allegedly looted meals objects and seized autos. No deaths have been reported in the second incident.
The lawmaker requested the House to watch a minute of silence for these killed in Binnari and neighbouring villages.
He additional urged the federal authorities to strengthen intelligence sharing amongst safety companies in Taraba, Plateau and Bauchi states to stop a recurrence.
Mr Audu additionally known as on the North-East Development Commission (NEDC), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons and different humanitarian companies to offer aid supplies to affected communities.
He listed constructing supplies, meals, blankets, mattresses and mats among the many objects wanted to assist survivors and affected households.
The movement additionally recommended the Taraba State Governor, safety commanders and different safety companies for his or her response to the assault.
Lawmakers query response to recurring assaults
Contributing to the talk, the Minority Leader, Fred Agbedi, expressed concern over the recurring assaults on communities throughout the nation, questioning whether or not the federal government was doing sufficient to guard lives and property.
He stated the House had repeatedly been confronted with studies of killings and destruction of property, usually adopted by motions and minutes of silence.
“I remember that in 2016, on this same floor, I rose to say that the life of a Nigerian is just now worth a one-minute silence,” Mr Agbedi stated.
He acknowledged the efforts of safety personnel however argued that the dimensions of the assaults demanded a stronger response, significantly by means of the deployment of recent know-how.
According to him, attackers usually invade communities, perform killings and depart earlier than safety companies reply.
“The situation where criminals will go to a community, attack the community, and there is no response. They finish. They will leave, and then we start reacting. It’s like medicine after death,” he stated.
Mr Agbedi questioned whether or not the nation had adequately deployed technological instruments to establish attackers and hint their actions.
He additionally raised considerations concerning the funding and implementation of safety budgets, urging related House committees to maneuver past resolutions and take sensible steps to enhance nationwide safety.
He stated lawmakers serving on security-related committees had a accountability to work intently with safety companies and be certain that the mandatory measures have been applied to guard Nigerians.
Another Taraba lawmaker, Jaafaru Yakubu, stated the state and neighbouring areas had skilled coordinated prison actions, together with banditry and kidnapping.
Mr Yakubu stated the Binnari assault was adopted by one other assault in which the attackers allegedly took meals objects and destroyed amenities belonging to the federal authorities.
Kalu defends Tinubu administration’s safety file
Presiding over the plenary, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu acknowledged the considerations raised by Mr Agbedi however defended the federal authorities’s efforts to sort out insecurity.
Mr Kalu stated the House’s resolutions had contributed to measures taken by the federal government and that the legislature shouldn’t be seen as merely holding classes with out attaining outcomes.
He cited figures he attributed to authorities studies, together with greater than 13,000 terrorists reportedly killed in the previous 12 months and an 81 per cent discount in violent deaths since 2023.
He additionally stated greater than 124,000 fighters and their relations had surrendered since 2023, whereas over 104,000 individuals had been processed by means of the Safe Corridor programme in collaboration with the Multinational Joint Task Force.
The deputy speaker additional stated the variety of native authorities areas beneath rebel management had declined from 17 in 2022 to 6, citing knowledge from 2025.
On weapons restoration, he stated greater than 19,000 unlawful weapons had been destroyed.
Mr Kalu additionally highlighted a rise in safety spending, saying the allocation rose from ₦2.98 trillion in 2023 to ₦3.25 trillion in 2024, ₦4.91 trillion in 2025 and ₦5.4 trillion in 2026.
He added that the federal government had recruited 30,000 extra police personnel and expanded digital policing initiatives.
The deputy speaker stated the figures demonstrated that the federal government was performing on the legislature’s interventions and that safety operations have been producing outcomes.
He maintained that the minute of silence was supposed to honour victims, whereas the federal government continued efforts to scale back insecurity.
“Your resolutions here, your motions here, do not end only with one minute silence. The one-minute silence is to honor those who have lost their life, but the number is shrinking by the day because the government is deliberate in making sure that the issue of insecurity is reduced, and we must give kudos to whom kudos is due. This administration has been doing tremendously well,” he stated.
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Motion referred to committees
The House subsequently adopted the movement by means of a voice vote and noticed a minute of silence in honour of these killed in the assaults.
Mr Kalu referred the matter to the House Committees on the North-East Development Commission, Works and NEMA for additional legislative motion.
The referral to the works committee is predicted to facilitate consideration of the deserted Wase-Karim Lamido street venture, which the lawmakers stated would enhance entry for safety personnel responding to emergencies.
The committees are anticipated to pursue the House’s resolutions on street entry, emergency response and help to communities affected by the assaults.
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