9th April, 2022
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has given reason the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government will not employ ‘full force’ against terrorists.
Lai Mohammed while speaking with Bond FM on Saturday said there will be collateral damage if Nigeria decides to go with full force to bomb terrorists.
The minister stated this while responding to the suggestion by Gov. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State for the use of mercenaries to fight terrorists.
Mohammed explained that the governor’s utterances were out of the deep concern and not a suggestion that government can consider.
The minister said:
“Gov. El-Rufai spoke out of a deep concern with the situation of things; he might have spoken out because of the circumstances at which the bandits are emboldened to operate.
“If we employ the mercenaries to fight the bandits, we should have it at the back of our minds that they are only mercenaries and not our own security personnel who will return to wherever after their task is done.
“The mercenaries cannot be compared with our own 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.”
The minister however urged Nigerians to join the fight against terrorists by exposing the criminals living in their neighborhoods.
Lai Mohammed said: “This is because these criminals called bandits are living among us; they interact with the people as well. Who are the ones supplying them 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.”