Former military Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, has urged the government to find an alternative to negotiating with terrorists and bandits.
The retired general, who spoke on Tuesday after meeting with the Nigerian Governors Forum in Minna, Niger State, submitted that the best option remains to prevent the crimes from happening.
Though he admitted that negotiation can sometimes be employed in securing peace, the former head of state noted that the best way to clamp down on criminal activities and their perpetrators is to prevent crime from happening.
Speaking with reference to the Kagara school abduction in Niger State, Abdulsalami noted in any attempt to rescue the abducted persons, military invasion might not be the best option because of the fear of losing innocent lives in the process.
While lamenting that the Nigeria Police Force is understaffed, Abubakar also observed that the entire security architecture in Nigeria is overstretched and needs to be augmented by recruiting additional manpower. This, he said will prevent any future attempt by criminals to overrun any area in the country.
The former military Head of State finished by saying Nigerians need to be their brothers keepers and show true love.
