‘We Do Not Approve Ransom Payments to Bandits’, FG Reaffirms

The Federal Government has reiterated that it does not pay ransom for kidnapped victims, insisting that security forces rely on military pressure and intelligence operations to secure their release.

The clarification was made by the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, in an interview with BBC Hausa monitored in Kaduna, addressing persistent public assumptions that ransom payments are used to free abducted individuals, particularly schoolchildren.

“The federal government does not pay ransom. Even if others do, the federal government does not. We do not pay ransom,” Musa said.

He explained that the belief that ransom is paid is mistaken. “People only assume that ransom is paid. For example, whenever children are kidnapped from schools, soldiers go into the forest to apply pressure on the bandits so they will flee and abandon the children, and then we recover them. There is no issue of paying ransom,” Musa added.

The defence minister warned that paying ransom only emboldens criminal networks and encourages further kidnappings. “We also oppose it, because if it continues, it will encourage people to kidnap for money. That is why we say people should stop paying ransom,” he said.

READ ALSO: Kogi Begins Demolition of Suspected ISWAP, Bandits’ Hideouts in Okene

Musa urged families and communities to report kidnapping incidents to security agencies rather than negotiating with abductors. “If someone is kidnapped, they should report to the security agencies so that proper action can be taken,” he stressed.

He further cautioned communities against aiding bandits by providing them with food or other supplies. “We constantly tell people to stop having dealings with bandits and to stop selling food or drinks to them,” he said.

Appealing for public cooperation, Musa emphasized that citizen intelligence is vital to ending banditry nationwide. “What people should understand is that if you sell food to them and they give you money, you are eating blood money, and that is not good,” he said.

The minister reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to restoring peace, noting that sustained military action combined with public support remains the most effective approach against banditry.

He also warned state governments against negotiating peace with bandits, describing such initiatives as deceptive and counterproductive to national security efforts, citing Katsina as an example.

Musa concluded, “The federal government’s goal daily is to ensure peace in the country.”