Insecurity :Nigeria senator wants citizens to carry guns

Guns used to illustrate the story. [Photo credit: NPR]
“My point is, people cannot be slaughtered in their houses helplessly. Maybe what we need to do is to liberalise gun control. Let everybody own a gun so that when you are coming to my house, you will know that I have my own gun while you are coming with yours,” a senator. Kabir Marafa, said on Tuesday.

Mr Marafa, who represents Zamfara Central Senatorial District, was clearly angered by not just the killings across the country but also the defenseless state of the victims. His Zamfara State has witnessed hundreds of killings by armed bandits in 2018. Several houses and properties were also burnt and destroyed by the criminals during the attacks.

On Tuesday, while contributing to a debate at the Senate on the insecurity across Nigeria, the senator called for legalisation of guns and firearms to enable citizens defend themselves.

He said he believed that the only advantage the criminals have over their victims is the guns and weapons they carry.

Mr Marafa had at several times decried the killings across the country, especially in Zamfara State on the floor of the Senate and called for the intervention of the federal government in crisis-affected areas of the state.

He has openly accused the state governor, Abdul’aziz Yari, of playing politics and blame game with the incessant killings in the state.

What Led To Call

Prior to Mr Marafa’s call for liberalisation of gun control, former governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang, raised a point of order on the killings in the state.