While Nigerians have begun the eventual release of the Orire, Oyo kidnap victims, Zamfara State governor, Dauda Lawal has revealed how he told those who abducted his brothers: if you like, go and kill them, I am not going to pay any dime”.
Speaking at the ARISE News and THISDAY Townhall Conference in Abuja, he said the kidnappers had demanded N300 million ransom after they abducted his brothers in 2019.
According to him, he chose not to negotiate with the criminals, much less pay, based on his conviction that paying ransom only emboldens more criminal groups.
“My own brothers were kidnapped in 2019, and these criminals were demanding at the time about 300 million. And I said, look, I’m not going to pay a dime. If you like, go and kill them”, he recalled.
He said his refusal to pay notwithstanding, that the kidnappers eventually released his brothers after they spent about three months in captivity.
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“By the time we continue to pay ransom to these people, we are encouraging them to kidnap people more and more.”
He said he still stands by that decision not to negotiate with abductors, adding:
“I will not negotiate, and I will not pay ransom to any criminal, no matter what happens.”
On what his administration has thus far done to combat insecurity, the governor stated:
“We bought drones, both surveillance drones and attack drones, to be able to aid the security forces in terms of fighting these criminals in their respective areas.”
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