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Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has questioned Nigeria’s continued struggle with insecurity, saying the country’s security system should be able to track criminals with the technology available today.
Obi spoke during an exclusive interview on Arise News on Thursday while discussing how his administration would tackle kidnapping, ransom demands and other security challenges if elected president in 2027.
The former Anambra State governor argued that advances in technology should make it possible for security agencies to determine the whereabouts of individuals and respond quickly to criminal activities.
“In today’s world, you can know where people are,” Obi said.
He questioned why surveillance capabilities allegedly used to monitor political opponents could not be redirected towards identifying and apprehending criminals.
“Today, the government knows where I am. All those equipments they’re using to focus on opponents. Should we focus on criminals?” he asked.
Obi said he would not make tracking political opponents a priority if elected, stressing that his administration would focus its resources on addressing criminal activities and protecting citizens.
“I’m not going to follow any opponents. I don’t care where they are. I don’t care what they do. It’s not my business. I’m going to focus it where it is,” he said.
According to Obi, the continued occurrence of kidnappings despite the availability of modern surveillance and tracking technology suggests that there are serious shortcomings in Nigeria’s approach to security.
“I don’t know who, but there’s something wrong. Not in today’s world. Because we’re serious. It’s happening to everybody. It’s happening every day. So, there’s something wrong,” he said.
Obi maintained that a serious approach to tackling insecurity would require the government to deploy available resources and technology towards locating criminals and preventing attacks rather than concentrating on political activities.
