Buhari’s campaign director wants special squad against kidnapping

National Director (mobilisation) of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, Johnson Podar, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to set up a special squad to tackle kidnapping in the country.

Podar, who said this on Wednesday in Jos, the Plateau state capital, stated that the menace was “getting worse every day’’ and suggested the establishment of a team specially trained and equipped to tackle kidnapping.

“Kidnapping has become one of the most dreaded security challenges in the country. Bombing has gone down and the Boko Haram insurgents have been neutralized, but kidnapping has replaced these crimes.

“It has become a major concern that seems to be spreading wider. It is a new trend in the country that must be tackled before it erodes the gains we have achieved on the security front.

“The criminals get smarter every day; what it means is that we have to devise some superior tactics to check them so as to make Nigeria a safer place for its residents,’’ he said.

Speaking on Buhari’s re-election, Podar said that the campaign organization was not surprised at the ease with which victory was attained because the masses were happy with the President’s policies and were eager to reward him with four more years.

He urged Buhari to keep the focus on his three focal points of promoting security, economic recovery and fighting corruption.

“He (Buhari) has done well in the three areas and should use the additional four years to pursue them even more vigorously.

The attention to the agriculture sector has ensured more jobs for many people. It has also provided more food for everyone.

“We have reduced, very significantly, the importation of rice and saved valuable foreign currency. Rice farmers have become richer and have contributed to economic growth. So, the agricultural sector has regained its prime place in Nigeria.

“The anti-corruption fight has also recorded massive success and restored integrity and decency in the way we do things.

People are now very careful and afraid to collect, or ask for, gratification. People have even denied their properties and monies in illicit accounts. A lot has changed,’’ he said.