The Senate President, David Mark on Tuesday said that he is in support of the calls for the introduction of state police to check the worsening insecurity in the country.
Mr Mark said this while the senate discussed the murder of three students of the University of Port Harcourt and one other person at Omuokiri – Aluu community in the Obio/Akpor Local government area of Rivers State.
The senate passed a resolution asking the police and security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of the crime including the spectators captured in the video making the rounds and try them for murder.
Chinwe Biringa, mother of the murdered Chiadika Biringa, a second year student of Theatre Arts at UNIPORT had written a petition to the Senate President dated 9 October, 2012 with the title ‘’Petition: Gruesome murder of my son at Aluu, University of Port Harcourt host community.’’
The petition
Part of the letter which was addressed to the senate president reads: “my name is Mrs. Chinwe Biringa. I am the mother of Mr. Chiadika Biringa, a second year student of Theatre Arts at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT). My husband is a very senior staff officer at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
“My son turned 20 years old this week and we gave him pocket money to celebrate it with his friends. On Friday morning, we were called by my second son, also a UNIPORT student that all was not well and he was hearing bad rumours that villagers at ALUU, the host community of UNIPORT had murdered four students. I immediately rushed to the scene only to see my son’s dead body being taken away naked to a mortuary in UNIPORT Teaching Hospital. I could not believe my eyes and collapsed.
“What did my son do? What did the other three young men who died with him do? First, we heard that the four students were alleged to have stolen a Blackberry phone and a laptop computer. This could not be further from the truth. My son has had a Blackberry phone and in fact a laptop computer since he was in primary school. No way could my son steal such a common thing as a cell phone which every village woman now owns.
“We have been subjected to several gory videos and pictures on the internet. This shows that someone filmed the whole barbarism from beginning to end. My son and his friends were savagely beaten and burnt to death while villagers at ALUU watched. All this has been caught on film!
“The video shows that all this was filmed in broad day light which suggests that they were killed after 7.30 am. Further investigation has revealed that they left their friend’s house at ALUU at about 7 am to go and prepare for lectures.
“To waylay them and beat them with planks until they died like chicken is the most savage thing one can witness in Nigeria of 2012. First they were stripped naked, marched around like frogs and then beaten to death. What savagery and bestiality.
“My husband and I want only two things, namely: (a) To clear the name of Chiadika, (b) justice
“Your Excellency, every responsible parent knows what I, my husband, and the entire family are passing through over this beastly murder.
“Again, and for emphasis, the film shows everything in clear view and all the perpetrators must answer for their crimes.
“We want Justice. Those who murdered my son must face the wrath of the law.
“Heartbroken mother.’’
Arrest killers now
Ayogu Eze (PDP Enugu) brought the matter to the floor of the senate and other lawmakers also condemned the killings.
“Only within one week of another systematic murder of over forty persons, majority of them students in another higher institution of learning in Mubi Adamawa state, and less than two weeks to another shooting within the University of Jos, this situation could flare up across the country and escalate out of control if not properly diagnosed, treated and contained,” Mr Eze said.
Senators were unanimous in calling on security agencies to ensure that those behind the killings are brought to book.
The Senate President said arresting the killers would serve as a deterrent to others.
“Crimes happen everywhere, here and abroad. But the difference between crimes elsewhere and crimes in Nigeria is that outside this country, the perpetrators are arrested as early as possible and they are also brought to book. The reason why people don’t want to commit crime in other climes is the fear of punishment,” he said.
The Senators said the time is ripe for Nigerians to revisit the structure of security organizations in the country.
Reps summons IGP
The House of Representatives in a separate resolution condemned the killing of students in Mubi and Aluu and called on the inspector general of police to ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted.
The lawmakers debated the issue after it was presented as a motion of urgent national importance by Abubakar Wambai, who called on the house to send a delegation to the affected areas.
Though the motion focused on the Mubi killings, lawmakers said the killings are similar to the killings in Aluu and the security agencies should be held responsible.
The lawmakers also summoned the Inspector General of police, Mohammed Abubakar to brief the house committee on police affairs over the two incidents in the next one week
