The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar, has asked the House of Representatives to allocate funding for an additional 50 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) in the 2025 budget to effectively combat banditry across the nation.
On Tuesday, during the 2025 budget defense session held by the House Committee on Defence in Abuja, Mr. Abubakar put forth his request.
He stated that, with the right equipment, the battle against banditry in the nation could be resolved within two months.
He said, “The Ministry of Defence is supposed to provide some equipment for some of the zones, but we cannot.
“Out of what we had in 2024, we were only able to provide just 20 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) but what can 20 APCs do.
“If we are able to have 50 APCs that can go into the bush to flush out those criminals. I assure you, within two months, we will finish the issue of banditry but there is no provision for that in the 2025 budget.
“I believe this House will consider more funding to the Ministry of Defense, so that we can be able to provide some equipment to some fresh areas of attacks.”