The Niger State Government has banned commercial motorcycles from operating in Minna. The ban is, according to the State Government, a proactive step to protect the city and the seat of government from bandits.
Niger state Deputy Governor, Ahmed Ketso disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing Journalists, a week after gunmen abducted 136 pupils from an Islamic school in Tegina.
Ahmed Ketso says “the ban on commercial motorcyclists is a step to avoid an attack but private motorcyclists are free to operate from 6 am to 9 pm every day.”
He also reiterated the state government’s commitment to rescuing the abducted schoolchildren, noting that negotiations with the abductors were ongoing.
The negotiation, the state says, is not about the payment of ransom but on how to secure the release of the pupils unhurt.
Ketso says the government is also aware that the bandits are demanding ransom from parents of the pupils, adding that government is however not involved in such negotiation.
The state government says it has provided series of logistics to security agencies in the state towards enhancing their performance in the fight against the bandits.