Senate Orders Investigation Into Apo Killings By Security Operatives

The Senate has ordered a probe into last Friday’s killing of at least seven people by a combined team of soldiers and operatives of the Department of State Security Services (SSS) in Apo, Abuja.

The Senate mandated its committees on National Security and Intelligence, Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, to investigate the killings.

The Senate took the decision after a debate on a motion sponsored by Sen. Sahabi Ya’u (PDP-Zamfara) entitled; “Apo killings; a case of extra-judicial killing”.

While the security operatives claimed they acted in self defense after they were fired upon by hostiles suspected to members of the Boko Haram sect, the survivors of the controversial shooting debunked the claim saying they were petty traders and tricycle riders, who were squatting in the uncompleted building purportedly owned by a top military brass, who gave them a deadline to vacate the property.

Sen. Ya’u argued that the deadline given to the squatters to vacate the premises had not elapsed before the ownermused the SSS and soldiers to forcibly eject them.

Other Senators, who contributed to the debate on the floor of the senate condemned the extra-judicial killing of Nigerians under any guise but called for investigations to unravel the mystery surrounding the killings as it was a sensitive security matter.

The Senate President, Sen. David Mark, in his ruling on the motion, stressed the need for the Senate to act only after the investigations.

Mark said the issues to clear were whether the incident was terror related, whether there was extra-judicial killing and the procedure used in the operation.

The Senate president stressed the need to keep sentiments aside and work with facts.

The committees were given one week to report back to the Senate.