The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, has explained why security forces struggle to instantly clamp down on bandits and terrorists fueling Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday, Morka said the wave of abductions, targeting women, schoolchildren and entire communities, has created understandable public anxiety, but the complexity of tracking the criminals is often underestimated.
“I am not a law enforcement person but I imagine that when people who commit these crimes withdraw into the tents of the forests, it’s not easy for the army to simply capture them. I don’t think this is something we should be commenting too much on.”
He insisted that anti-kidnapping operations are ongoing nationwide and that outcomes are not always announced immediately due to the sensitive nature of arrests and processing.
“These efforts we’re discussing are ongoing. When they produce the results, even when arrests are made, usually, these are not necessarily subject of immediate media review. Because people who are arrested in these circumstances also have to be processed, identified and interrogated. And some of these things take time. The common criminals sometimes take days, if not weeks, to get results.”
Calling for public patience, Morka said security agencies are working round the clock to rescue victims and neutralise threats.
He welcomed the “good news” that many abductees are being recovered safely, noting that the President has already issued firm instructions to security forces to secure the freedom of every victim.
“So I think we need to be patient. The good news is that in some of these cases, thank God we are bringing home some of the victims. And the idea that the President has given the matching order to security forces to bring home everyone who is caught in this web of unjustifiable crime and criminality.”
