The Federal Government has declared it won’t pay ransom to secure the release of abducted students and teachers of Government Science College, Kagara in Niger State.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, stated this on Saturday while featuring on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’.
He was reacting to speculations and reports that the Federal Government was prepared to exchange the abductees for a huge ransom.
But when asked on Saturday whether the government had paid ransom or was considering the payment of ransom, the minister said, “No”.
READ ALSO: Sheikh Gumi meets kidnappers of Kagara students, says abductees will be released soon
He said: “We employ kinetic and non-kinetic (measures), you don’t throwaway invitation to engage but the overall strategy you keep to your chest.”
The Minister also said the government won’t tolerate any form of criminality in any form.
He said: “Bandits all over the world work with the psychology of people. Deliberately, they target women and children because this is what will attract a lot of global outcries. That is exactly what bandits do all over the world.
“The government has put in place, all along, various strategies to contain banditry, to fight insurgency, to fight kidnapping. Some of these measures are kinetic, some are not kinetic. We didn’t get here overnight and that is why it is difficult to get out one day.
“Criminality in any form will not be tolerated by the government. At the same time, the government has a duty to look at the underlining causes of some of these criminalities in other to address them.
“I was in Minna with my colleagues, the Ministers of Interior and Police Affairs, the IG, and the National Security Adviser on Wednesday to get firsthand information on the abduction of these Kagara schoolboys. I can tell you that as of today that the government is on top of the matter.”
Meanwhile, the Zamfara bandits’ leader, Dogo Gide, who controls the southern part of the Zamfara forest, has assured that the kidnapped teachers and students of Government Science College Kagara in Niger State would soon be released.
Dogo Gide made the promise when he met with the officials of the Niger State Government under the intervention of Sheikh Gumi in Dutsin Magaji of Kotonkoro forest, in Zamfara State.
Gide said although the abductees are not in his camp, he would negotiate with his fellow bandits to hasten their release.
“The abducted persons, whether they were kidnapped by bandits in Zamfara State or any other neighbouring states of Niger, Kebbi and Kaduna will be released soon,” he said.
He explained that Fulanis had been left with no option than to carry arms and also engage in banditry because of the pressure they face from all angles.
He specifically mentioned the persistent attacks and killings of the Fulani by vigilante groups and Yansakai followed by the bombardments of their camps by the military.
Gide, however, assured that with the intervention of Sheikh Gumi they would ensure the release of the abducted persons.
He also promised to accept the peace process being preached by Sheikh Gumi provided that the governors were really serious on the issue.
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