Nigerian lawmakers summons Buhari for security crisis

LAGOS, Nigeria

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari was summoned Thursday by the House of Representatives to address parliament on rising insecurity in parts of the country.

Adopting a motion presented by Ahmed Safana, a lawmaker from Buhari's home state of Katsina, the House "resolved to request that the president address the House and the entire country."

Safana told parliament how bandits have taken over parts of the state, including abducting a monarch Wednesday and kidnapping at least five people from a girls-only secondary school in Zamfara.

Lawmakers took turns lamenting the unabated insecurity they suggested might be related to rising unemployment and poverty.

They urged the government to buckle down and tackle the challenges.

“The major problem is the policy we give out,” said Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun. “It took Bill Gates to tell us in Nigeria that we’ve neglected health and education."

Mohammed Monguno, a lawmaker from the restive northeast Borno state, said the situation is worsening and could spark national unrest.

"If care is not taken, if the situation is not curbed, we will not be able to sleep," he said.