By Chesa Chesa
President Bola Tinubu has ordered that no ransom whatsoever be paid to secure the release of abducted school children and other kidnap victims in Kaduna.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris disclosed this to State House correspondents on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa.
The minister spoke against the background of rising kidnapping incidents, citing recent cases in Kaduna, Borno, and Sokoto states.
He said Presidents Tinubu deemed this situation unacceptable and that the government will not condone abductions, kidnappings, or any form of criminality.
Over 280 pupils and teachers of Government Secondary School and LEA primary school at Kuriga, Kaduna State were abducted by bandits last Thursday.
Last Wednesday, terrorists attacked the Buda community in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, abducting about 61 people.
Also recently, 200 women were reportedly kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists in the Gamboru-Ngala and Dikwa local government areas of Borno State.
The women, who were Internally Displaced Persons, were said to have been kidnapped when they went into the bush in search of firewood.
The Minister said: “Of course, government is watching that very closely and not just watching, also ensuring that security agencies are taking proactive steps to ensure that this is halted significantly.
“Mr. President has said that is an unacceptable situation and the government will not condone abductions or kidnappings or any kind of criminality in that direction.
“We’re seeing this happening and government is taking very proactive steps, first to mitigate that, and also to stop the spread of this apparently.”
“We are seeing that the more the security agencies are also hitting these targets or criminals, the more they are pushed to also getting some soft targets.
“But government is not taking any excuses. The President has directed that security agencies must, as a matter of urgency, ensure that these children and all those who have been kidnapped are brought back in safety and also in the process to ensure that not a dime is paid for ransom.”
Idris added that “it’s important to underscore that no dime, government is not paying anybody any dime, and the government is optimistic that these children and other people that have been abducted will be brought back to their families in safety.”
