•General Christopher Musa (rtd)
The federal government has restated its position that it does not pay ransom for abducted victims.
This was as it insisted that security forces rely on military pressure and intelligence operations to secure their release.
The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, made this clarification in an interview with BBC Hausa monitored in Kaduna, amid persistent public assumptions that ransom payments are made to free kidnapped victims, especially 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 stressed that rescued victims are usually freed after sustained security operations.
“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,” he explained.
Musa warned that paying ransom only strengthens criminal networks and encourages more 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.
He 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,” the minister added.
The defence minister also warned communities to stop dealings with bandits, including supplying them with food and other items.
“We constantly tell people to stop having dealings with bandits and to stop selling food or drinks to them,” he said.
Musa appealed for public cooperation, noting that intelligence from citizens is vital to ending banditry across the country.
“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.
He reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to restoring peace, stressing that sustained military action and public support remain the most effective tools against banditry.
The minister further warned state governments against negotiating peace with bandits, describing such agreements as deceptive and counterproductive to national security efforts.
The minister cited Katsina as an example, noting that the federal government had cautioned against peace initiatives with armed groups in the state.
He added that the federal government’s goal daily is to ensure peace in the country.
