FG Did Not Pay Ransom for Kebbi, Niger Kidnapped Students – Senate Spokesperson

Senate spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu has reiterated that the Federal Government did not issue any ransom to secure the release of recently abducted victims in Kebbi and Niger states.

Speaking on Friday during Channels Television’s Morning Brief, Adaramodu responded to public concerns over the absence of clear evidence showing clashes between security forces and kidnappers during the rescue missions.

With school abductions occurring more frequently, many Nigerians continue to question whether ransom payments are secretly being used, a claim government officials consistently deny.

Human rights advocates and local leaders have repeatedly argued that the lack of transparency surrounding rescue operations fuels speculation, especially when victims return without any detailed explanation of the operation that freed them.

However, the senator representing Ekiti South insisted that engagement with kidnappers can take different forms and that the public should not expect the security agencies to reveal sensitive tactics.

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“From our side at the National Assembly, we believe the Federal Government did not pay any ransom to anybody.

“If there is any contact with the bandits, there are several types, negative or positive. It can be through force or persuasion,” he said.

The latest kidnappings in Kebbi and Niger—where students were taken from their schools—have once again triggered questions about the effectiveness of intelligence gathering and early-warning systems.

Adaramodu cautioned the public against assuming that no military confrontation took place simply because there were no images of casualties or arrests.

“If you have not seen the corpses of abductors or them being handcuffed from the forest, that does not mean there was no serious exchange of battle.

“When abductors realise that superior power is coming, they can abandon their victims and flee,” he stated.

Addressing concerns over last week’s attack on a girls’ secondary school in Kebbi State, the Senate spokesperson confirmed that the upper chamber has set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the incident.

He disclosed that briefings from both the state government and security agencies suggested that the soldiers assigned to protect the school allegedly abandoned their post shortly before the kidnappers arrived.

“We were made to understand, especially from the government of the state, that the soldiers guarding that place left, and minutes later, those people struck and kidnapped our children,” he said.

Scrutiny has also intensified following the death of Brigadier General Musa Uba, who was involved in operations against banditry. Adaramodu said the new committee will examine the circumstances surrounding his death as part of its mandate.

He further stressed that security agencies are not expected to disclose the details of their tactical operations.

“The ways and manners of the military, how they rescue victims, cannot and will not be made public.

“As a security agency, they will not tell us how many bullets they shot or how many guns they lost,” he said.

Adaramodu emphasised that the top priority for both the Senate and the Federal Government is the safe return of victims, not public disclosure of operational methods.

“The job we gave them is to rescue the victims—our girls, our parents, our worshippers.

“What we know is that they went, they brought back those who were ferried into the forest, and that is what matters,” he said.

He reassured Nigerians that the National Assembly will continue to demand accountability while supporting the armed forces in their fight against nationwide insecurity.