Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says Nigeria is currently at the mercy of insurgents because the country is being denied access to weapons needed to fight the terrorists despite government’s efforts to do so.

Mohammed who lamented the killing of 43 farmers by Boko Haram in Zabarmari, Jere Local Government Area of Borno State said the federal government would not relent in its efforts to protect the lives and property of all Nigerians.

The minister spoke when he paid a courtesy call on Benue state Governor, Samuel Ortom in Markurdi, the state capital.

He said terrorist group were enjoying global funding, hence the need for global collaboration to defeat the insurgents.

He said, “when people talk about terrorism, they don’t seem to appreciate the fact that terrorism is not a local issue but a global issue and there is no part of the world that is not experiencing pockets of terrorism.

“I am glad that the Governor Ortom himself has said the federal government has assisted a lot in curbing the issue of insecurity in Benue State.

“We will never stop protecting lives and livelihood of the people, but you must understand that we are also dealing with terrorists who are financed globally and we also need more support from global partners.“For instance, Nigeria has made attempts to acquire better and more effective platforms to deal with terrorists and for one reason or the other we have been denied these platforms, and without these weapons and adequate platforms, we will remain at the mercy of terrorists.

But you see, fighting terrorists is not a joke because what actually happened in Borno State was quite unfortunate.

“You must be also able to look at the strategy of the terrorists. You see, terrorists also use media and publicity as oxygen. So when they go on this kind of mindless killings of innocent people, it is just that a dying terrorist group will now suddenly again spring to life.

It does not mean that the government is not doing enough. Terrorism in Africa and any other place in the world has the same concept which is, you have a group of people who are extremists in their thoughts, who don’t believe that me and you should be alive.”

Earlier, Governor Ortom had commended the efforts of the federal government to curb insecurity in Benue, adding that state government would not hesitate to apprehend and prosecute any herdsman caught violating the law prohibiting open grazing in the state