Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has revealed that he refused to pay a N300 million ransom demanded by kidnappers for the release of his brothers, insisting that negotiating with criminals only fuels insecurity.
The governor made the disclosure on Thursday at the ARISE News/THISDAY Town Hall Conference in Abuja, where he defended his administration’s policy against ransom payments.
Lawal recounted that his brothers were abducted in 2019 and held captive for about three months after their kidnappers demanded N300 million for their release.
According to him, he declined to negotiate or make any payment despite pressure from various quarters, maintaining that rewarding kidnappers would only embolden them to continue abducting people.
“My own brothers were kidnapped in 2019, and the kidnappers demanded N300 million. I told them I was not going to pay a kobo. If they wanted, they could kill them,” he said.
He added that the abductors eventually released his brothers without receiving any ransom.
The governor argued that paying ransom sustains criminal enterprises and encourages further kidnappings.
“Once we continue paying ransom, we are encouraging them to keep kidnapping people. If nobody pays, they will eventually realise there is nothing to gain,” he said.
Lawal reiterated that his administration would neither negotiate with armed groups nor pay ransom under any circumstances.
He also renewed his call for the establishment of state police, saying governors cannot effectively tackle insecurity without operational control over security agencies.
According to him, although governors are regarded as chief security officers of their states, they lack the constitutional authority to direct security operations.
The governor further blamed the country’s security challenges on inadequate funding, poor welfare and insufficient training for police personnel, stressing that greater investment in security agencies, modern equipment and technology offers a more sustainable solution to banditry and kidnapping than negotiating with criminals.
(The Whistler)