The National Security Council on Thursday announced that it is considering a nationwide ban on motorcycles and mining activities in the country as part of its strategy to curb terr@rist activities, checkmate loopholes and cut off their sources of funding.
This was the outcome of the meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja.
Addressing state house correspondents after the meeting, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, said the administration’s consideration of the wholesale ban was forced by the raging insecurity that has shown no signs of subsiding despite concerted efforts of security agencies.
“The government would look into that possibility with particular regard to restriction on use and distribution of motorcycles which is the most conventional logistical means being deployed by terr@rists.”
Mr Malami said the determination did not come easy for the administration, warning that Nigerians are likely to bear harsh economic implications of the move. The attorney-general said federal authorities have been able to find a connection between motorcycles, mining operations and insecurity across the country. He, however, failed to clarify why the measure was being considered nationwide.
“The opportunistic nature of these activities ties strongly to the fact that gold is often the favoured mineral of the terr@rists groups as many of these groups use this to secure a source of funding for future operations.”.
Mr Malami did not immediately say when the ban would be announced, or whether it would be debated openly prior to implementation, but he insisted that the administration would not disregard its intelligence report that recommended banning motorcycles to control the flow of money and other resources to rampaging outlaws.
