Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele has disclosed that the National Assembly is actively crafting a legal framework to facilitate the creation of state police across Nigeria, aimed at addressing growing insecurity.
In a statement issued through his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs in celebration of the Easter holiday, Bamidele urged law enforcement agencies to ramp up their efforts in arresting and prosecuting those involved in killings, abductions, and destruction of property throughout the country.
“As we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord, it is exigent we reflect on His virtues; learn from His consecration and live His life of purpose rooted in the pursuit of justice, love and redemption for humanity,” Bamidele said.
He emphasized Christ’s life as a guide for Nigerians to live in unity: “Despite the animosity He suffered and opposition He faced, Jesus Christ consciously sought and secured freedom for the captives, peace for the troubled, comfort for the sorrowful, love for the dejected, justice for the oppressed and hope for those who are in despair.”
“In Nigeria today, Christ’s example clearly presents us a glimpse of how we should live together as compatriots and not competitors, collaborators and not combatants, comrades and not contenders in the task of building a viable and virile federation that will serve the interest of all.”
He condemned recent violent incidents in Benue and Plateau States, saying, “The recent killings in Benue and Plateau States outrightly negated the virtues of peace and love that Jesus Christ taught during His days.”
Bamidele also criticized inflammatory remarks by some public figures: “The recurrent utterances by some political and sectional figures also belied the values of courage, perseverance and tolerance He evidently lived for.”
“No country develops as a result of one section rising up against another and vice versa,” he warned.
Commenting on the National Assembly’s initiative, he noted, “While the Authority of the National Assembly is in the process of developing legal frameworks for the establishment of state police as one of the measures to address insecurity in the country, we urge security agencies to work together as a team to track and apprehend all the masterminds and sponsors of terror attacks nationwide.”
He called on political leaders to avoid exploiting national challenges for personal gain: “We appeal to some political actors that always latch on the country’s challenges to push divisive narratives to learn from the example of Jesus Christ.”
“Such actors are no longer playing opposition politics, but simply taking advantage of the country’s internal conditions in the pursuit of their own parochial political outcomes.”
Bamidele reaffirmed the commitment of the legislature: “Nigeria is our ultimate project. As a parliament, we are committed to the actualisation of this project. This is evident in all the legislative initiatives we are pushing since the birth of the 10th National Assembly.”
“Our goal is to build a federation that will be noted for peace, progress and prosperity anywhere in the world.”
He urged all stakeholders to set aside ethnic, political, and religious differences: “Regardless of their ethnicity, politics and religion, all actors should shun all forms of divisive utterance and join forces against the common foes of Nigeria and not to subvert our effort to build a strong and virile federation.”
In his closing remarks, he extended Easter greetings and encouraged Nigerians “to consciously reflect on the virtues of Jesus Christ.
“learn from His consecration and live His life of purpose rooted in the pursuit of justice, love and redemption for humanity.”
