Senate summons Buratai over Army’s ‘Operation Positive Identification’

Lawmakers of the ninth Senate have summoned the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, over the controversial Operation Positive Identification which has been planned to take place across the country.

The chairman of the Senate committee on Army, Ali Ndume, while speaking to journalists on Wednesday, October 30, said the upper chamber is rejecting the operation established by the Army.

Ndume said both the House of Representatives and the Senate in a joint committee has summoned the Army Chief to appear before it on Thursday, October 31.

“Although the Chief of Army Staff had described the alert as fake but as representatives of the people, we have summoned him to come and clarify it to Nigerians,” Ndume said.

The senator said Buratai is expected to explain all the modalities put in place for the exercise the Army said would help identify miscreants across Nigeria.

He also said that the ninth Assembly will not support any action by the security agency that would trample on the rights of the Nigerian people. Citing similar exercises in the northeast and the southeast, Ndume said he supports the idea of having every Nigerian having identification cards but anything that would cause any form of inconveniences for the people is not acceptable.

The House in a motion moved by its minority leader, Ndudi Elumelu, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene and stop the Army from carrying out its plan.

Eluemlu said it is a well-known fact that many Nigerians do not have access to their identification cards and such exercise would hamper citizens’ right to freedom of movement.