During his administration, former President Goodluck
Jonathan procured the services of mercenaries to assist the Nigerian Army in
the war against insurgents in the northern part of the country.
But ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired military
general, terminated the contract when he took over from Jonathan, describing it
as “shameful”.
‘SECURITY AGENCIES
HAVE FAILED’
Jaha said security agencies have failed to end violent attacks
across the country despite huge allocations of funds to the tune of “N19
trillion” in the past eight years.
“We can bring in mercenaries. It was attempted during
President Goodluck Jonathan, they were about to finish Boko Haram. The new
president (Muhammadu Buhari) was convinced, and he moved them out of the
country, and the insecurity keeps on escalating to other parts of the country,”
the lawmaker said.
“We are going to organise a movement to present a position
paper on the attempt to bring mercenaries to bring an end to insecurity since
our security agencies have failed Nigerians.
“In as much as a substantial amount of money is not going to
be allocated or will continue to be allocated to security agencies, insecurity
will never come to an end in Nigeria.
“From 2015 to 2023,
more than N19 trillion was allocated to security and security-related sectors
in Nigeria. Whereas, we have an alternative.”
After the adoption of the motion, the house asked the
Nigerian Navy to conduct a “thorough and impartial investigation” into the
events that led to the death of Onumaegbu and identify the culprits.
The lawmakers also asked the federal government to provide
adequate support and compensation to the family of the deceased.
