He said government would rather deploy all necessary forces to eliminate criminals than to negotiate with bandits and terrorists.

Monguno disclosed this during the weekly ministerial briefing at the State House in Abuja.

According to him, negotiating with the criminals would suggest weakness and incapacity on the part of government.

He said the government would not succumb to blackmail and the use of criminals by proxies to harass innocent citizens.

“While the government is not averse to talking it must apply the necessary force because you can’t trust these people.

“Government wants to use military assets to eliminate them but if along the line, the come out, good. It paints the picture of weakness, incapacity,” Monguno said.