It’s Dangerous Pacifying Bandits With Money, Vehicles – Buhari Cautions Govs

BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – President Muhammadu Buhari has warned state governors against placating bandits with money and vehicles, saying such policy portends grave danger ahead for the country.

He also declared that criminal elements across the country should not mistake the Federal Government’s “restraint for the humanitarian goals of protecting innocent lives as a weakness or a sign of fear or irresolution.”

President Buhari, who described the abduction of Government Girls Secondary School, (GGSS)’s students in Jangebe, Zamfara State, as “inhumane and totally unacceptable”, said governors must stop gratifying bandits financially and materially as the “policy might boomerang disastrously” in future.

A statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, quoted Buhari as saying: “This administration will not succumb to blackmail by bandits who target innocent school students in the expectations of huge ransom payments.

“No criminal group can be too strong to be defeated by the government. The only thing standing between our security forces and the bandits are the rules of engagement.

“Let them not entertain any illusions that they are more powerful than the government. They shouldn’t mistake our restraint for the humanitarian goals of protecting innocent lives as a weakness or a sign of fear or irresolution.

“We have the capacity to deploy massive force against the bandits in the villages where they operate, but our limitation is the fear of heavy casualties of innocent villagers and hostages who might be used as human shields by the bandits.

The President, who said government’s “primary objective is to get the hostages safe, alive and unharmed”, further explained that “a hostage crisis is a complex situation that requires maximum patience in order to protect the victims from physical harm or even brutal death at the hands of their captors.”

He however urged states and local governments to be more proactive by improving security around schools and their surroundings.

Also, in his reaction to the abduction, United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, condemned the incident and demanded an immediate release of the students.

According to him; “I can tell you that the secretary general condemns this in the strongest possible terms and calls for their immediate and unconditional release.

“As we’ve said before, schools should always remain safe spaces to learn without fear of violence,” Guterres spokesperson, Mr. Stephane Dujarric, said yesterday in New York, United States.