Start Paying Informants To Nab Bandit Terrorists – Shehu Sani Tells FG
Former lawmaker, Sen. , has admonished President Muhammadu Buhari-led's government to start paying informants to cripple the activities of terrorists creating unrest in the country.
According to Sani, Nigeria’s fight against terrorism has created billionaire generals and policemen.
The 8th National Assembly lawmaker who spoke in an interview with the Punch, berated the state of the nation, noting that the government needs to involve locals to salvage the country from the terror groups.
Sani said since bandit terrorists have paid informants, the government should also compensate locals who have information about the assailants to speed up the fight against terrorism.
Sani said: “We need to involve the locals. We should reward information. Informants of terrorists are being paid by terrorists; we should pay our informants too, to give us information. Bandits and terrorists have decided to abandon their criminality and we should join to fight those who refused to repent.
“The security situation we face depends on the region you come from. In the North-Central part of Nigeria, most of the violence going on there is between herdsmen and farmers but in the North-West, it’s terrorists killing people, extorting ransom, unleashing mayhem, burning down communities, imposing fines, levies, and taxes on people.
Sani added: “It’s unfortunate that there is nothing to show for it. Our military and policemen are still crying that they don’t have the equipment, they don’t have weapons, they don’t need machinery to take on terrorists. We ended up creating billionaire retired generals and billionaire policemen without security for our people.”
The former lawmaker stressed that the adoption of 21st-century technology will bring a lasting and efficient solution to the security challenges in Nigeria.
He admonished that security agencies should do away with archaic practices such as mounting roadblocks.
He urged the government to deploy drones and other technological assistance to areas experiencing high kidnapping incidences.
“So, auditing our security and defence apparatus is very important. The money for security should go for security. We can only tackle this problem if we use technology. From Kaduna to Abuja here, there are about 30 or 35 villages but there is no single drone stationed to move around to locate where kidnappers are to launch attacks.
“We are still using the archaic system of mounting roadblocks, flashing torchlights on the faces of drivers and telling them to put on inner lights and open their boots to see what they carry. We are using a 20th-century strategy to fight 21st-century crimes. So, the third is the use of human intelligence,” the Punch quoted the Senator as saying.