SHOCKING CONFESSION: ‘I Know The People Behind Banditry, Kidnapping’ – Northern Governor Oknews Politics TodayJuly. 14, 2021

SHOCKING CONFESSION: ‘I Know The People Behind Banditry, Kidnapping’ – Northern Governor 

Oknews Politics Today

July. 14, 2021

Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, on Tuesday admitted that he is well aware of and knows the people sponsoring criminality in his state.

The Governor who made this known during the distribution of cash and starter packs worth N75million to residents of Darazo Local Government area of the state vowed to expose these people at the right time.

He explained that according to information at his disposal, politicians in the state are the ones bringing in criminals into the state.

His words, “I want our people to always be together, we should eschew rumour and rumour mongering, hatred, treachery and mischief. Don’t listen to the Abuja politicians who have nothing to offer other than to pull down Bala Mohammed.

“By the grace of God, I have become governor with or without them and of course, I will live my time allotted to me by Allah. I may go for second term, I may not even live to that time; I may go for the presidency, there is nothing they can do. I know of what they are doing.

“Those Abuja politicians are not doing anything to us other than bringing mis­chief. I know some leaders of the state who are busy bringing criminals to the state. I will talk when the time comes. We will prove tough but certainly, we are not afraid of them.

“You have seen what is manifesting on Bauchi of recent, criminality every­where, kidnapping and steal­ing, it is not just like that. We have security reports and we know those behind that.”

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has said that the multifaceted insecurity crises and economic woes currently bedeviling the country largely caused by the  COVID-19 pandemic.

He explained further that the #EndSARS crisis that rocked the country in 2020, which left 57 civilians, 37 policemen and six soldiers dead and property worth billions of naira destroyed, was caused by COVID-19 as it was a carryover of the frustrations caused by the pandemic.

According to him, COVID-19 pandemic led to the partial dismantling of economic activities, caused geometric increase in joblessness and offered opportunities for criminals to recruit the youths into their gangs.

The Minister who is also a former Osun State Governor said all these on Tuesday at the Ekiti State University, EKSU, while delivering a lecture entitled: “COVID -19: The Economy and Security,” to mark the third yearly lecture of the Faculty of Arts of the institution.

He warned that unless the nation’s markets, building settlements and transportation systems are revolutionised, there would always be easy transmission of COVID-19 or other communicable diseases in the near future, adding that the country may not be lucky next time.

The minister urged the security forces to always be proactive, saying that once there is instability in the income of people, those in low tolerance threshold will take to crimes.

“The effect of COVID-19 on the economy is humongous. It is not surprising therefore that the GDP fell by 23 per cent, while household incomes fell by 60 per cent. The fall in GDP was largely due to the fact that the four states put under lockdown account for two thirds of the economy.

“This development was a nightmare for the Nigerian economy, considering that oil accounts for 80 per cent of government revenues.”