Nigerian Senate condemns students massacre

The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday condemned the previous day's massacre of students in Mubi in the northeastern state of Adamawa. The Senate urged the federal government to expeditiously apprehend the perpetrators of the act and bring them to book. The Senate took these decisions following a debate on matter brought through a motion. More than 25 students of the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, were killed on Tuesday by gunmen, suspected to be Boko Haram members. Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu said it was indeed a bad day for the country that such an act would be carried out on innocent students. Ekweremadu expressed worry that it was not an isolated case, but that it was being replicated everywhere in the southeast, saying that it was evil and condemnable. He said if it meant moving all the police and army to the northern part of the country to save the people, it should be done. Senate President David Mark, on his part, said the act was unacceptable, adding that every state government in the country was responsible for providing security to the citizens of the state. Mark was of the view that capital punishment be brought to the test in this particular case, to perhaps serve as a deterrent to others. The Senate observed one minute silence in honor of those who were killed in the Mubi shooting.