Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum has reiterated that the ban on the sale of alcohol, which was enacted by the State House of Assembly, is still operational.
To this end, the governor announced the further enforcement of the ban. He accused both serving and dismissed military, police and other security agencies of playing significant roles in influencing civilians in promoting criminalities, such as armed robbery, drug abuse, gangsterism, cultism and other social vices, which are heightening terrorism in the state.
The governor said this yesterday at the inauguration of a reconstituted committee on “revocation of illegal hotels, brothels, shanties, and criminal hideouts and curbing the menace of antisocial vices” at the council chambers of the Government House in Maiduguri.
He said, “I am happy to know that army officers are here, especially the military, police, and others, because most of these activities were committed by whom? Some are dismissed army officers, security officers, current army officers, men, officers, and civilians.
“So, there should be no sacred cow in this matter if we want the Maiduguri metropolis and indeed the state to get rid of insurgency, terrorism and other sorts of criminalities.
“Ban on sale of liquor in Maiduguri is still effective, and there is an Act on this effect by the State House of Assembly. Prostitution and gangsterism are on the increase on a daily basis. It is sad to note that someone was recently killed behind the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH). In addition, political thuggery has to be curtailed.
“Some of the years we had insurgency were due to these criminalities. Borno was one of the peaceful states in Nigeria, but we allowed the state capital, Maiduguri, to be taken over by criminals. We shall never get it done with insurgency without dealing with these criminalities. We shall do everything possible to keep the situation to a bare minimum.”
The governor noted that the committee existed and had done well before, but it had become lax lately.
Hence, he said the committee is being reconstituted for efficiency and productivity.
He noted that the state government has records of all the hotels and those with legal entities to operate in the state. “I want the military to be cautious because these criminalities promote insurgency,” he said.
Governor Zulum reconstituted and re-empowered the committee to purge the state of all forms of criminality and antisocial vices in the Maiduguri metropolis and surrounding environments.
The ban on sales and consumption of liquor and alcoholic contents, according to the governor, stems from the rising cases of clashes among rival groups, cultism, prostitution, drug abuse, thuggery and theft, which have led to loss of lives and valuables.
The governor co-opted the military, police, civil defence, and several other security agencies, including the civilian JTF, to join the committee, which included the Ministry of Justice for a holistic approach and possible prosecution of offenders.
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