There’s kidnapping, banditry everywhere, even in Buhari’s hometown – Garba Shehu

The Presidency has said that security agencies were not giving preferential treatment to any town in their quest to deal with kidnappers.

Speaking on AIT’s Kakaki, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, noted that the abduction of Alhaji Musa Uba, husband to President Muhammadu Buhari’s niece, Hajiya Biiki, was a clear indication that security agencies were not giving any town preferential treatment.

Uba is also the District Head of Daura, Buhari home town and the father-in-law to the President’s Aide-de-camp, Col. Mohammed Abubakar.

Shehu who was responding to a question on the increasing cases of banditry and the kidnap in Buhari’s hometown, said, “Well, that has happened but I think that brings the message home that it is a national problem and that because the President comes from Daura, that is not to say there cannot be crime in Daura or Daura will be specially treated.

“The army said two days ago that there are clear pointers that these problems are beyond criminality.

“If you ask me about the biggest security (challenge) we met on the ground, it is Boko Haram terrorism and I will score this administration 98 per cent coming this far because Boko Haram is now confined to the fringes of Lake Chad. As a matter of fact, they jump in and out and mainly occupy communities that have not been re-occupied by their owner.”

On a recent report by Acting IGP Mohammed Adamu that 1,071 persons lost their lives in crime-related cases across the country in the first quarter of 2019, Shehu said, “Yes, there has been a recent spike (in attacks) but this is not to suggest that this has never happened in the country and they are beginning just now because President Buhari is out of the country.

“You mentioned the numbers but I want to say from our own point of view in the Presidency, we have avoided comparing numbers because it will lead to the same criticisms that some people have made of being insensitive because even if it is one life of a Nigerian that is lost, it is important, it cannot be justified, it cannot be defended.

“But anybody who takes the trouble to check the Presidential website; at some point, Femi (Adesina) had done the numbers and the staggering numbers put on display coming from the past are nothing comparable to these numbers but we will not take it lightly.”