Banditry: Niger Govt bans sale of motorcycles

The government of Niger has outlawed the selling of motorcycles in the country.

The decision was made after constant security issues in several regions of the state, as well as requests for motorbikes as ransom by robbers and kidnappers, according to the Secretary to the State Government, Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, who revealed it in a statement on Saturday.

“The State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has placed an immediate ban on motorbike sales throughout the State,” according to the statement.

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According to Matane, the restriction applies to any motorbike (Bajaj, Boxer, Qiujeng, Honda ACE, Jingchen, etc.) with an engine capacity of 185 cubic centimetres or less (cc).

The SSG went on to say that the state government had implemented this additional precaution in order to reduce criminal activity in the state.

He expressed concern about the level of carnage and chaos caused by bandits and kidnappers in various sections of the state, and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to clear the state of any security danger.

“Government is conscious of the problems the measure will cause the people,” the SSG says, “but the decision was made in the overall benefit of the state and appealed to motorbike dealers across the state to cooperate with the direction.”

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In a similar vein, the SSG underlined that commercial motorbike riders’ operations at illicit garages are still prohibited in the Minna metropolitan.