Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has blamed Nigerian politicians for the cause of insecurity and lack of safety in the country.

Speaking on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television, Bello revealed that Nigeria will be safer and more secure when politicians stop the use of thugs and criminals during elections.

The governor’s statement read: “When politicians begin to stop the use of thugs, touts, or some group of criminal that is when we will begin to have safety and security.”

Bello who assumed office on January 27, 2016 and won the seat for a second term on November 16, 2019 added that:

“When I came on board, I inherited a state that was largely divided along several lines. For you to aspire to be anything politically in Kogi State then, you must have what we call ‘boys’ or thugs or touts and then use it to intimidate people during political dispensations.

“Once the political exercise is over, the so-called boys or thugs or foot soldiers would be abandoned and left to themselves and by that, they breed into something else or a hydra-headed monster that you will not be able to curb at the end of the day. There are several histories, records, and intelligence to that effect across the country.

“But I refused to play that kind of dangerous or unnecessary politics when I came on board. My ascension to the office is known to everybody across the world. I chose my path immediately and decided to deal with criminals irrespective of political affiliations by simply utilising the laws passed by the Kogi State House of Assembly and the existing security architecture,” he said.