Senator Jimoh Ibrahim has emphasized the need for integrating technology in the fight against insecurity, revealing that his phone detected over 277 guns around the Senate chamber.
He made these remarks on Wednesday while contributing to a motion raised by Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South, addressing recent bombings in the North-East.
“I don’t want to take much of your time but I will say clearly it costs nothing for the intelligent army to get devices in their phone to know where these notorious criminals live,” said the lawmaker representing Ondo South.
Senator Ibrahim mentioned, “As I am here, I check my phone regularly and I know the number of guns that are very close to me here. This is just less than one thousand installations. Within us now, there are over 277 guns around here just because an armoury is close to this place.”
When Senate President Godswill Akpabio inquired, “Of the 277 guns around you here, do you know how many of them have bullets inside?” Senator Ibrahim assured that since an armoury is nearby, the senators are safe.
### Technological Solutions for Insurgency
The senator advocated for the military’s adoption of technology in combating insurgency. “We can use technology, just like distinguished Senator Ndume had said, to deploy technology rather than using soldiers,” he stated.
Senator Ibrahim criticized the military’s reliance on unconventional strategies, arguing for a conventional approach to address unconventional threats like Boko Haram. “We need to use conventional strategy to fight unconventional war. Boko Haram is an unconventional war,” he argued.
### Call for Security Discussions
Highlighting the importance of security, Senator Ibrahim suggested that the Senate should have a dedicated closed-door session to discuss security matters. “We need to wake up. Our lives are very important,” he asserted.
### Addressing Recent Bombings
Senator Ibrahim expressed his sorrow over the bombings in Gwoza, Borno State, describing them as both saddening and embarrassing. He condemned the ongoing insecurity, stating, “Living with insecurity cannot be the only way to understand security. How can you be going to a wedding and somebody just put a bomb to attack you and people started dying? It is uncalled for, it is rejected in the totality of its formulation.”
