The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), on Thursday said terrorists were exploiting motorcycles distributed to Nigerians as palliatives to carry out attacks and cause havoc across the country.
He, however, urged state governors and lawmakers to discontinue the distribution of motorcycles as palliatives, noting that some of the motorcycles eventually reach terrorists, enabling them to facilitate and expand their criminal operations.
Musa, who made the remarks while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said measures were being implemented to address terrorism and the operational difficulties facing the nation’s 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.
“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 said.
The minister similarly cautioned that motorcycles provided under constituency projects and other palliative schemes by lawmakers might eventually return to the possession of bandits and terrorists.
“Those bikes… before you know it, they’re already back to the bandits, and that’s what they’re using. So we must stop that,” he said.
According to him, security agencies had discovered illegal markets and motor parks being used as routes for terrorists to transport arms and ammunition into locations where they operate.
“What we realise 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 added.
The defence minister also advocated stronger participation by local governments in the fight against insecurity, stressing that their closeness to communities puts them in a better position to detect criminals and stop criminal activities.
“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 a better solution, a quick fix, our local governments must work.
“Crime and development are 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 said.
Musa said local government chairmen ought to organise frequent security meetings and communicate developments from their respective areas.
He also called on state and local authorities to improve surveillance around markets, motor parks and other points that could be used to transport drugs, weapons and ammunition.
“If we’re able to make sure that we man all the markets, all the motor parks, all these areas where drugs, weapons, ammunition move, it will make it difficult for them,” he added.
