Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says the
terrain where bandits operate contributes to making security operations
difficult.
According to NAN, the minister said this on Saturday during
a radio programme on Bond FM.
He said the current administration has invested in tackling
insecurity, adding that efforts would be more impactful if citizens support
government’s efforts.
“We are also pleading with Nigerians to join in this fight
because they have a lot of roles to play in tackling this insecurity. This is
because these criminals called bandits are living among us; they interact with
the people as well,” he said.
“Who are the ones
supplying them with food? More so, they also have landlords. People should
expose these criminals and then, the various efforts of the government will be
effectively complemented and we will see the results.
“We have been trying our best in the fight against the
bandits by equipping our security apparatus. The government has purchased
aircraft so that they can fight alongside the soldiers. We have not rested on
our oars.
“The welfare of the police is also given adequate attention
and very recently, this administration recruited 25,000 constables and deployed
them to their home states. This will go a long way in community policing.
“It will be easier
for the newly-recruited constables to work effectively. There are lots of work
in progress in the security infrastructure and personnel.”
The minister also spoke on the suggestion by Nasir el-Rufai,
governor of Kaduna, on the use of mercenaries to fight bandits.
“Governor el-Rufai spoke out of a deep concern about the
situation. He might have spoken out because of the circumstances at which the
bandits are emboldened to operate,” he added.
“If we employ mercenaries to fight the bandits, we should
have it at the back of our minds that they are only mercenaries and not our
security personnel who will return to wherever after their task is done.
“The mercenaries
cannot be compared with our security forces; the fight against the bandits is a
difficult one because of the terrain.
“We cannot just go with full force to bomb them or else the
innocents living around them will be killed and we don’t want that to happen.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com