Lai Mohammed, Nigeria Minister of Information and Culture, says it is not fair for Nigerians to condemn the Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle’s action for granting amnesty to bandits who terrorized the North-West region of the state.
The minister, while speaking on a News platform, further claimed that the Federal Government would not interfere with how the governors of each state would and are addressing the security challenges of their states.
Mohammed claimed the security challenges facing each state are peculiar to them, and it s the governor who is the Chief Security Officer of the states that knows what best solution to deploy in fighting the issue.
The minister argues that there was nothing wrong with granting amnesty to criminals if the original purpose is to restore peace in the state.
“When you are fighting insurgency, you use both kinetic and non-kinetic (means). Granting amnesty to notorious drug barons, notorious militants is not a new thing; it is not unique to Nigeria.
“You need to be in the shoes of the Zamfara State government or governor to appreciate what are the issues at stake (and) why he has done that. Don’t also forget that the state governors are their own chief security officers.
“When you are dealing with insurgency, kidnapping, banditry, you are interested in the bigger picture; how do we restore peace? If granting amnesty to one notorious kidnapper is going to give me peace in my state, I might take that decision. If granting amnesty to one repentant warlord would help me capture a thousand bandits, I might take that decision. Don’t just look at what is in the public place, understand the very high complexity of managing insurgency and banditry.”
Speaking further, the minister confirms that there were conditions before amnesty could be granted, and it is the governor who is in the best position to determine who meets these conditions.
“The governor of a state understands the dynamics of the state and takes a decision, but it will be unfair of us to criticize him (Matawalle) without knowing what he did, and I want to believe the governors work together with the security forces in their own state, so, it is not as we think,” he added.