The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the Osun local government crisis which has claimed no fewer than six lives in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Rep. Bamidele Salam (PDP-Osun) and nine other members from the state at plenary on Wednesday.
Moving the motion earlier, Salam recalled that on Feb. 17, violence broke out in several parts of Osun.
He said that the violence was as a result of the attempt to take over the administration of local governments in the state by the officials who were sacked by a court judgment in November 2022.
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Salam said that the sacked officials broke the gates of their respective local government secretariats to forcefully take over the councils without any court order.
He said Gov. Ademola Adeleke had earlier raised an alarm on the imminent threat to peace and security in the state.
The lawmaker said that the governor had also called on the Inspector-General of Police and heads of other security agencies to take proactive steps to forestall the violence.
He expressed the concern that if the current trend of resort to self-help by political actors was not nipped in the bud, it might encourage citizens to do same in the face of perceived rights and privileges.
“The present situation in Osun may snowball into a free-for-all unless urgent actions are taken by relevant authorities.
“The preventable violence which happened in Osun had led to the death of six persons while scores of others suffered severe injuries and presently receiving treatment in various hospitals,” he said.
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Salam said that if prompt action was not taken against the ongoing lawlessness and arbitrariness, it might escalate into more serious security challenges in the state.
According to him, the most fundamental objective and primary purpose of any government is the security and welfare of the people.
He said that as representatives of the people, the house had the duty and responsibility of ensuring safety of lives and property in the country.
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Salam, however, said that the police, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies had the capacity to restore normalcy in all the local government councils.
In his ruling, the Speaker, Rep Tajudeen Abbas, said that an ad hoc committee would be constituted to carry out the investigation.
NAN reports that Abbas led the house into observing a minute silence in honour of those who lost their lives during the crisis.
