ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Ondo State Senator, Jimoh Ibrahim made a startling revelation on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday.
He said that his phone detected 277 guns in the vicinity of the Senate chamber.
He attributed this to installations on his phone and emphasized the need for leveraging technology in the fight against insecurity.
Ibrahim’s comments came during a motion raised by Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South regarding recent bombings in the North-East state.
He said, “I don’t want to take much of your time but I will say clearly it costs nothing for the intelligent army to get devices in their phone to know where these notorious criminals live.
“As I am here, I check my phone regularly and I know the number of guns that are very close to me here.
“This is just less than one thousand installations. Within us now, there are over 277 guns around here just because an armoury is close to this place.”
The senator stressed that utilizing technology would enable the military to pinpoint the locations of criminals and insurgents, rather than relying solely on conventional methods.
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He highlighted the presence of an armory near the National Assembly, ensuring the safety of senators, but urged the military to adopt conventional strategies in combating unconventional wars like Boko Haram.
When Senate President Godswill Akpabio asked him, “Of the 277 guns around you here, do you know how many of them have bullets inside?” Ibrahim said since there is an amoury close to the National Assembly, the senators were safe.
“So, what I am saying? We can use technology, just like distinguished Senator Ndume had said, to deploy technology rather than using soldiers.
“I want to say very clearly that the military should stop using unconventional strategies to fight insurgency in Nigeria. There is a distinction between unconventional and conventional strategy.
“We need to use conventional strategy to fight unconventional war. Boko Haram is an unconventional war,” he said.
Senator Ibrahim further said, “We are all aware of what happened in Kenya. We cannot close our eyes, we need to wake up. So, I will finally suggest to you, Mr Senate President, and my distinguished colleagues;
“…that this Senate under your leadership, sir, must have a closed-door meeting for one day and then use that whole day to discuss security matters. Our lives are very important.”
Ibrahim further suggested a closed-door meeting for the Senate to discuss security matters and emphasized the importance of prioritizing their lives and security.
The senator condemned the recent Gwoza, Borno State bombings as saddening and embarrassing, emphasizing the need for proactive measures against insecurity.
His call for technological integration in security efforts aims to enhance the effectiveness of the military’s anti-insurgency operations.
He said, “Living with insecurity cannot be the only way to understand security. We should not get to that.
“How can you be going to a wedding and somebody just put a bomb to attack you and people started dying? It is uncalled for, it is rejected in the totality of its formulation.”