Insecurity: Defence Minister Urges Governors Against Giving Motorcycles as Palliatives

By Uzair Adam

The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), has urged state governors and lawmakers to stop distributing motorcycles as palliatives, warning that some of the motorcycles eventually find their way into the hands of terrorists and bandits.

Musa gave the warning on Thursday while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he discussed ongoing efforts to tackle terrorism and other security challenges confronting the country.

According to him, motorcycles provided to vulnerable Nigerians sometimes end up being used by terrorists to facilitate their movements and carry out attacks.

“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.

The minister advised that where motorcycles must be distributed, authorities should consider smaller-capacity models that would be less useful to terrorists operating in difficult terrains.

“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,” Musa said.

He also warned that motorcycles distributed by lawmakers under constituency projects and other intervention programmes could eventually be diverted to 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 added.

Musa further disclosed that security agencies had identified illegal markets and motor parks as major channels through which terrorists transport arms and ammunition to their areas of operation.

“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 said.

The defence minister also called for greater involvement of local governments in the fight against insecurity, arguing that local authorities are better positioned to identify criminal activities within their communities.

“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,” he said.

According to Musa, local government chairmen should regularly convene security meetings and monitor developments within their respective areas.

He also urged state and local authorities to strengthen surveillance around markets, motor parks and other locations that could be exploited 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,” the minister added.