Reno Omokri, an ex-aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, has slammed the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, for saying that the Federal Government and its security agencies know the whereabouts of kidnappers and bandits but only being careful.

According to Omokri, the government was not careful with #EndSARS protesters last October when soldiers allegedly opened fire on youths at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos, injuring over 30 protesters and allegedly killing some youths.

The PUNCH had earlier reported that the minister at a briefing on Tuesday said the government indeed knew the locations of kidnappers, adding that security agencies were only being careful to avoid civilian casualties.

“One of the most difficult things to do, for a democratically-elected government, is to use the instruments of coercion against its own people. For example, while the nation’s military have superior firepower over the rag tag band of Boko Haram and ISWA, the terrorists most often than not operate among the populace, either in our villages or towns, hence the military, in tackling them, is usually careful to avoid collateral damage.

“The same applies to the kidnappers who abduct our school children. Usually, the location of the kidnappers is not unknown to security forces, but they still have to exercise caution in order not to hurt the same children they are trying to rescue. Despite these inhibitions, the security forces have the wherewithal to decisively tackle the challenges,” Mohammed had said.

Reacting, Omokri, in a string of tweets on Wednesday, wrote, “Lai Mohammed says the Buhari government knows where kidnappers are, but are only being ‘careful’. But why was the Buhari administration not careful during #LekkiMassacre, or when they massacred Nigerian Shiites? Why is their mercy only reserved for kidnappers?

“Lai, why is your government now appealing to bandits and herdsmen? Did you ‘appeal’ to #EndSARS protesters before massacring them, or to the people of Orlu before slaughtering them? The Buhari administration is a useless embarrassment!”