Governor of Borno State, Babagana Umara Zulum has placed a total ban on the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in the state, linking the rise in criminal activities and anti-social behaviour in Maiduguri and its environs to the alleged involvement of some military and security personnel.
The governor made this known on Tuesday during the inauguration of a newly reconstituted committee on the “revocation of illegal hotels, brothels, shanties, and criminal hideouts and curbing the menace of antisocial vices” at the Council Chambers of the Government House, Maiduguri.
Speaking at the event, Zulum accused some serving and dismissed security operatives of aiding and abetting criminality in the state.
He said, “I am happy to know that army officers are here, especially the military, police, and others are here because most of these activities were committed by whom? Some of them are dismissed army officers, dismissed security officers, current army officers, men and officers, including 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,” he added.
The governor claimed that both former and serving security agents were responsible for influencing civilians into criminal lifestyles, including cultism, radicalism, prostitution, and drug abuse—factors he said were fuelling terrorism and insecurity in the state.
Zulum explained that the decision to ban alcohol was one of several measures aimed at addressing the surge in violent crimes and social decay.
He said the proliferation of cult clashes, prostitution rings, drug abuse, thuggery, and theft had led to an alarming loss of lives and property.
Meanwhile, to combat these threats, the governor gave the newly reconstituted committee a broader and firmer mandate to clean up Maiduguri and surrounding areas.
Members of the military, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, and the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) have all been enlisted in the task force.
