VIDEO: ‘Even in the most developed countries, school kidnapping takes place’ – Lai Mohammed

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The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said that the best way to deal with insurgents and terrorist groups is to “learn and adapt”, citing that terrorists don’t live by the ethos of society.

Lai Mohammed also asserted in an interview with Channels Television that school kidnappings take place even in the most developed countries.

A video from Channels Television’s Twitter account shows the minister explaining the rationale behind the government’s strategies in dealing with the recent slew of kidnappings and attacks by insurgents and bandits.

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“Even in the most developed countries in the world, school kidnappings take place,” he said.

According to Lai Mohammed, last year in the US, there were at least 4 school kidnappings. “That is probably one of the most developed countries in the world,” he remarked.

The minister further explained that terrorists are now targeting school children because they are “soft targets”, and the government cannot turn every school into a military camp because of that.

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Even in the most developed countries of this world, school kidnapping takes place – Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed #NewsNight#CTVTweets pic.twitter.com/W3VzxHZlvX

— Channels Television (@channelstv) February 22, 2021

“The thing about terrorism is that terrorists don’t live by your rules. They are especially interested in soft targets. They know that kidnapping school children is what will get global attention. We can’t turn all our schools into barracks.

“The most important thing is intelligence gathering and surveillance. You are dealing with people who have absolutely no rules of engagements. Whose motivations are completely different from mine and yours. Anywhere in the world, this is how terrorists operate,” he said.

READ ALSO: Death Of My Son Won’t Deter Me From Sending Others To School – Father Of Slain Kagara Boy

He then said that the government has considered closing all schools near the borders of the country and dispersing the students across other schools in the country.

“The most important thing is to learn and adapt. For instance, we are in the process of deciding whether to close all schools along the borders and disperse the students to other schools. But Kagara is not really at the outskirts; it shares no boundary with any country,” he said.

However, Lai Mohammed insisted that the security climate in the country has changed dramatically from the state it was not so long ago. According to the minister, just a few years ago, the Boko haram insurgency group were “strolling” into media headquarters and major cities, which is no longer the case.

“Every security must learn to adapt. Have you forgotten that a few years ago, hardly a day passed without one suicide bomber blowing himself up, Boko haram was strolling into media headquarters, motor parks, etc. All that has been contained now.

“School children are now the target because when children are kidnapped, parents and everybody become worried,” he concluded.