The Table Is Turning Against Bandits, Says FG

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said there is no doubt that the table is turning against bandits.

He said this during a media tour to Katsina State on Tuesday.

He was accompanied by journalists, whom he said were on ground to get information on the efforts of the state government to check banditry.

“We are here with at least 20 journalists in order to get a first-hand information on the great efforts of the Kastina state government and other affected states in the North-west to combat the menace of banditry and sundry crimes.”

“There is no doubt that the table is turning against the bandits. Since Kastina and other affected states came up with a number of novel measures that got the bandits boxed in, and the military stepped up its Kinetic approach,” he said.

The Minister added that there is need to trumpet it, in order to encourage the states and the security agencies involved.

“We believe these efforts should be trumpeted, not just for the sake of trumpeting it, but as a way of encouraging the states involved, the security agencies that have been risking it all to ensure that we are all safe and the federal government that has done so much, especially in the procurement of platforms, to put the military and other security agencies in a better stead to tackle not just banditry and kidnapping but also terrorism,” he said.

“Your Excellency, we did this successfully in 2015, when we took local and international journalists to the areas liberated by our gallant troops in Borno, specifically Konduga, Kaure and Bama. The first-hand report from that tour went a long way in putting the efforts of the military in better perspective and silencing naysayers.

“It also changed the narrative about the efforts of the military at combating terrorism.

“We also undertook a similar tour in 2017, when we took some members of the #Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) Group on a guided tour of the North-east. The trip availed the BBOG the opportunity to witness and better understand the efforts being made by the Nigerian military to secure freedom for the Chibok girls,” he added.