Former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has argued that the persistent problem of banditry in Northern Nigeria should not be narrowly interpreted as a crime driven solely by kidnapping or cattle rustling. Instead, he described it as a deeper and more complex struggle centered on the control of resources.
Mohammed made this assertion on Monday while speaking during an interview on Channels Television, against the backdrop of the worsening security challenges facing the country. According to him, the public discourse on banditry often overlooks its historical and economic roots.
He explained that banditry predates Nigeria’s modern security challenges, recalling a town hall meeting on insecurity held in Katsina State, which was attended by key government officials, including the Ministers of Interior and Defence. During that meeting, the then Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Masari, reportedly noted that documented cases of banditry in the state dated as far back as 1891.
Mohammed emphasized that this historical context shows banditry is not a recent development. He stressed that viewing the problem merely through the lens of kidnapping or cattle theft oversimplifies a longstanding issue tied to competition over land, grazing routes, and other vital resources.
Meanwhile, the former minister also reiterated his long-held position on the events of October 20, 2020, during the #EndSARS protests, insisting that there was no massacre at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos. Speaking during another appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Mohammed acknowledged that lives were lost during the nationwide protests but maintained that the deaths did not occur at the Lekki Tollgate.
He clarified that the Federal Government never denied that casualties were recorded during the protests. According to him, official records showed that 37 police officers and six soldiers lost their lives in different parts of the country, alongside civilian casualties in places such as Kano and Abuja. However, he maintained that claims of a massacre at the Lekki Tollgate were unfounded.
Mohammed also defended the government’s disagreement with an international media report on the incident, stating that the organization relied on unverified accounts and was not physically present at the tollgate during the incident. He described the Lekki Tollgate narrative as inconsistent, arguing that no concrete evidence, such as bodies or verified missing persons, has been presented to support claims of a massacre.
He further revealed that he dedicated an entire chapter of his book, Headlines and Soundbites: Media Moments That Defined an Administration, to the Lekki Tollgate controversy. According to him, the book seeks to address what he described as widespread misinformation and to correct public perceptions surrounding key events during his time in office.
Reaffirming his position, Mohammed challenged anyone with direct evidence to come forward, insisting that while deaths occurred in various locations during the protests, the Lekki Tollgate was not the scene of a massacre.
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