President Bola Tinubu says his administration will not condone the activities of bandits terrorising Nigeria, or succumb to their demands for ransom to free children held hostage.
President Tinubu made the statement at yesterday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, which was held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Recall that no fewer than 280 children, all under 15 years old, were taken into captivity after hordes of motorcycle-riding bandits invaded LEA school in Kuriga village, in Kaduna State last Thursday.
According to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, Tinubu ordered top security agencies to get on the matter and speedily ensure the safe rescue of the kidnapped school kids.
At the FEC meeting, Idris said Tinubu took a stance against caving-in to bandits’ demands through ransom payment, saying he re-affirmed his administration’s commitment to rid the nation of all criminal elements that pose a risk to its security.
He said, “The President has directed that security agencies must, as a matter of urgency, ensure that these children and all those who have been kidnapped are brought back in safety; and also in the process, to ensure that not a dime is paid for ransom”.
He added, “So it’s important to underscore that the Government is not paying anybody any dime and the Government is optimistic that these children and other people that have been abducted will be brought back to their families in safety”.
The President, according to the Minister, stressed that his administration would not in any way endorse mass abductions by acceding to the demands of bandits.
However, it is not known if the bandits had contacted the LEA school in Kuriga to demand a ransom and other conditions for the release of the hostages.
