TheCable

Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says the worst of the security challenges facing the country is over.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Monday, Mohammed said bandits and terrorists would never “hold sway in our country”.

The minister said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been able to reduce the incidents of insecurity, adding that there might still be cases — but not on the scale witnessed by Nigerians in the past.

“As far as the daunting security challenges we face are concerned, we can tell you that the worst is over. Never again will terrorists and
bandits and their cohorts hold sway in our country,” he said.

“The security challenges we have face, as an administration, have been daunting — from terrorism to banditry to kidnapping to separatist violence to crude oil theft to armed robbery and sundry crimes.

“It’s undoubtedly the greatest challenge to the peace and security of our great nation since the civil war from 1967 to 1970. It is the kind of challenge that would have overwhelmed many nations.

“But thanks to the purposeful leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, we can say, I want to repeat, that the worst is over and peace and security are gradually returning to the land. Please don’t misunderstand or misrepresent this assertion.

“We may still witness isolated cases of security challenges here and there, but it will not be on the scale that we have witnessed in the past.”

The minister added that the media should always highlight the efforts of the security agencies in trying to keep the country safe.