Gov Zulum bans alcohol sales in Maiduguri

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, has declared a total ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages in Maiduguri and surrounding areas, attributing the decision to growing concerns over crime, social decay, and insecurity.

In a no-holds-barred statement, Governor Zulum criticized both serving and retired members of Nigeria’s security agencies, accusing them of fueling criminal behavior and moral decline.

According to him, their actions have encouraged a rise in prostitution, drug abuse, and radicalism among civilians, further threatening peace efforts in the insurgency-hit region.

The governor said this on Tuesday at the inauguration of a reconstituted committee on “revocation of illegal hotels, brothels, shanties, and criminal hideouts and curbing the menace of antisocial vices” at the council chambers of the government house in Maiduguri.

“I am happy to know that army officers are here, especially the military, police, and others are here because most of these activities were committed by whom? Some of them are dismissed army officers, dismissed security officers, current army officers, men and officers, including civilians.

“So, there should be no sacred cow in this matter if we want the Maiduguri metropolis and indeed the state to get rid of insurgency, terrorism and other sorts of criminalities,” Zulum said.

In the brief event, the Zulum reconstituted and re-empowered the committee to purge the state of all forms of criminality and antisocial vices in the Maiduguri metropolis and surrounding environments.

The ban on sales and consumption of liquor and alcoholic contents, according to the governor, stems from the rising cases of clashes among rival groups, cultism, prostitution, drug abuse, thuggery and theft, which have led to loss of lives and valuables.

The governor co-opted the military, police, civil defence, and several other security agencies, including the civilian JTF, to join the committee for a holistic approach.

Acknowledging the task before the reconstituted committee, the co-chair decried the deteriorating internal security in Maiduguri and outlined the committee’s immediate line of action.

With the liquor embargo and the demolition of hotels and infrastructures identified as harbouring criminal activities, it is yet to be seen if this decision will affect internal revenue in the state amidst the controversies surrounding the tax reform bill before the national assembly, which the Borno State Governor and notable leaders from the state have championed.