Legalize the use of firearm to end banditry, sect killings – Reps member Gagdi

A member representing APC-Plateau Hon. Gagdi Adamu Yusuf has appealed to the National Assembly to promulgate laws that will allow Nigerians to bear arms to defend themselves against attacks and the killing of law-abiding citizens of the country.

The lawmaker representing Pankshin, Kanke and Kanam Federal Constituency of the state, made the call in an interview with journalists in Kanam.

Gadgi noted that he had earlier visited some communities in Kanam and Wase Local Government Areas recently attacked by gunmen. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports, gunmen suspected to be bandits last Sunday stormed some communities in Kanam and Wase, where 106 persons were killed and many houses burnt.

The lawmaker insisted that legalising the bearing of arms would go a long way toward addressing the spate of attacks and killings in communities.

According to Vanguard report he also canvassed stiffer measures to regulate the use of arms by the citizens alongside laws permitting the use of a firearm.

“If we want to curtail the spate of attacks in communities, we should make laws that will permit citizens to carry arms.

“If for instance, those who attacked my people know that the locals also have arms, they won’t come, and even they do, the casualty will not be this high. But there must be regulation on the use of the arms; anyone who misuses it should be imprisoned or even sentenced to death by hanging.

“But I tell you, if citizens are allowed to carry these arms to protect themselves, all these attacks and killings will end,” he said.

He urged security agencies to always work on intelligence reports at their disposal to avert incidences that could lead to a security breach, adding that the attacks in his constituency could have been put off if the security agencies acted on the intelligence report at their disposal.

The lawmaker applauded the military for the prompt response and deployment of personnel to the affected communities.