Emergency Rule: Senate Grills Security Chiefs Behind Closed Door

SAN FRANCISCO, December 18, 2013, (THEWILL) - The Senate shut its doors for about five hours on Wednesday purposely to grill the nation's security chiefs on the security situation in the three Northeastern States under emergency rule. The security chiefs who attended the closed door meeting included the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Sa'ad; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika; Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Alex Bade; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba; Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar; and the Director-General, Department of State Security, DSS, Mr. Ita Ekpenyong, and Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Tanimu Turaki. The senate had after receiving the request of President Goodluck Jonathan to extend the emergency rule in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States invited the heads of the security agencies to appear at the plenary to give a rundown of security situation in the affected states. Briefing journalists after the meeting, Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said 'The discussions with the security chiefs was very fruitful, very open and the senate received a lot of reports. 'The Senators took the opportunity to ask candid questions and answers to those questions were very forthcoming. Now that we have received all these reports from the service chiefs, the senate will now sit, review the report and come up with its position. 'Today is for briefing and the service chiefs were frank with their briefing.  Whatever we come out with ultimately, will be made public.' It could be recalled that the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Monday at a stakeholders hearing at the National Assembly lamented the security situation in the North East especially the three states under the state of emergency. Jega had said that if the security situation did not improve before the 2015 elections, the commission would be forced to postpone elections in the affected states. BY EMMA UCHE, ABUJA