The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), has warned governors and lawmakers against distributing motorcycles as palliatives, saying some of the motorcycles eventually end up in the hands of terrorists and are used to facilitate criminal activities across the country.
Musa gave the warning on Thursday while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he spoke on the government’s efforts to tackle terrorism and the operational challenges confronting security forces.
The minister explained that motorcycles provide terrorists with the mobility to navigate difficult terrain, move quickly and evade security forces.
“We try to appeal to even governors to stop giving motorcycles out as palliatives. Because these motorcycles are the same ones that still end up with these terrorists,” he said.
Musa advised that where motorcycles must be distributed as palliatives, authorities should consider giving beneficiaries smaller-capacity motorcycles that would be less useful to terrorists.
“Even if you have to give, don’t give them the big capacity motorcycles, give them the small capacity ones that they won’t be able to use to run around, because that gives them leverage. They can easily enter and then disappear,” he added.
The Defence Minister also warned that motorcycles distributed through constituency projects and other intervention programmes by lawmakers could eventually find their way to bandits and terrorists.
“Those bikes… before you know it, it already gets back to the bandits and that’s what they’re using. So we must stop that, we must be able to identify markets,” Musa said.
According to him, security agencies have identified illegal markets and motor parks as major channels through which terrorists transport arms and ammunition into areas where they operate.
“What we realised from experience is they establish illegal markets or illicit motor parks. They go to those motor parks, that’s where they move arms and ammunition into those areas,” he said.
Musa also called for greater involvement of local governments in tackling insecurity, arguing that their proximity to communities gives them an advantage in identifying criminals and preventing crime.
“So governors and local government… and I can tell you, we must allow our local governments to work. Failure of local government is what is aggravating what we’re dealing with, and if we want better solution, quick fix, our local governments must work,” he said.
The minister maintained that local government chairmen were better positioned to address security challenges within their jurisdictions because they understand their communities and the criminal elements operating there.
“Because crime and development is local. If every local government chairman is dealing with criminals within his locality, it’s easier to manage them than leaving it to the state or to the federal,” he added.
Musa said local government chairmen should hold regular security meetings and provide timely reports on developments in their areas.
“I told them they have a lot to do. Weekly, they’re supposed to be engaged in their security issues, be able to have their own meetings on weekly basis and be reporting, because they know the criminals. They know their hiders, they know these things,” he said.
He further urged state and local authorities to strengthen surveillance around markets, motor parks and other locations through which drugs, weapons and ammunition could be moved.
“If we’re able to make sure that we man all the markets, all the motor parks, all these areas where drugs, weapons, ammunition will move, it will make it difficult for them. And once you’re able to apply that, they will fizzle out,” Musa said.
On the payment of ransom to secure the release of kidnapped victims, the minister dismissed suggestions that the federal government pays ransom to terrorists.
“We are not paying. We don’t encourage ransom. Anybody who is even paying ransom is committing an offence. It’s not a government policy to pay ransom to anybody,” he said.
