'We can’t turn all our schools into barracks' – Nigerian minister on kidnappings

Nigeria's Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said the government was doing everything to secure citizens against insurgents elements.

He underlined in an interview with Channels TV outlet that terrorist attacks in schools was a global issue citing cases in the United States of America to back his point.

Mohammed added that the federal government had undertaken a raft of measures to secure schools especially as he was talking in respect of last week's abduction of members of a boarding school community in Kagara, Niger State.

"We can’t turn all our schools into barracks. What is important to me is intelligence gathering, surveillance rather than the physical presence of the soldiers or the police.

"But the truth of the matter is that, you are dealing with people who don’t think like me and you. We are dealing with people who have absolutely no rules of engagement. We are dealing with people whose motivations are completely different from mine and yours. And anywhere in the world this is how terrorists operate.

"But the important thing is to learn from what is happening and to adapt. For instance, we were in the process of thinking do we close all schools along the borders and then disperse the students to other schools where you can have adequate security so to speak," he disclosed.

He stressed the importance of the security system having to continually "learn to adapt to the changing tactics of terrorists."

The abducted students, teachers and relations of some staff remain in captivity. The state and federal government have teamed up to ensure the safe return of all kidnapped persons.

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