Senior Special Assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, Tuesday revealed how bandits terrorizing Zamfara State engaged a tea seller known locally as “Mai Shayi” to spy on Nigerian air force fighting against kidnapping and other criminalities in the North west.
Answering questions from journalists at the APC national Secretariat, on insecurities in the country, the presidential spokesman admitted that there are bad eggs in affected communities who reveal the secrets of the military to the bandits.
Shehu said, “A tea seller near the airport when they move the aircraft from Katsina Airport to operate against the bandits in Zamfara State, this man that sold tea near the airport. The sponsors of bandits hired him, built a house for him, bought him a golf car and gave him money to do bigger tea business.
” Each time an aircraft took off from Katsina Airport to go and operate in Zamfara, he will call them on phone and say they are coming by the time they get there, the target have disappeared. So there are bad people in our communities. What are we doing a citizens to rid ourselves of informants because the military people are as human as we are they have blood running in their veins.”
The president’s mouthpiece, however, assured that the military are capable of containing the security challenge emanating from the Southeast as it will soon fade away with time, stressing that no criminal or terrorist is mightier than the armed forces of this country.