President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday vowed not to pay ransom to kidnappers of scores of students and other people in parts of Nigeria.
Last Thursday, terrorists successfully executed a mass abduction of over 287 pupils and students from a Primary and Secondary School at Kuriga, a community in Chikun Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna State.
The incident came barely 24 hours after Boko Haram terrorists abducted over 200 Internally Displaced women from three Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS) camps in Borno State.
Days later, another band of terrorists abducted some Tsangaya students at Gidan Bakuso in Gada LGA of Sokoto State. Tsangaya is a school that combines Islamic and Western education.
Minister of Information Minister and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who stated this in Abuja while addressing journalists on Wednesday, said the President also directed security agencies to ensure the release of all kidnapped victims without the payment of ransom.
“Mr President has also directed that no ransom will be paid by government to any of these criminal elements. I think it’s important that this be put out there,” the Information Minister said.
The minister’s comments follow the mass kidnappings that have occurred in some states in Nigeria.