Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi has said he cannot negotiate with terrorists launching vicious attacks on local communities in the state because they are elements who “want to deprive people of peace and security”.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that according to Bello, rather than hold discussions with outlaws, he will “smoke them out”.
“I wouldn’t listen to the conversation of bandits or terrorists. I wouldn’t know where they are and they remain there the next day. I will smoke them out,” Bello said while speaking in an interview on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily on Friday.
“See, insecurity varies, leaders have their own way of dealing with insecurity but in Kogi State, we face them squarely because we can’t negotiate with those who want to deprive my people peace and security [sic].”
Like Bello, the federal government had also announced that it would not negotiate with terrorist groups such as ISWAP, a splinter of Boko Haram.
Authorities at the federal level said they do not see negotiations as a means to deal with the worsening security conditions in the country.
