President Bola Tinubu has said that no ransom will be paid for the rescue of the children abducted from Kuriga in Kaduna State.
The President stated this today at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting which held at the Presidential Villa Abuja.
Briefing State House Correspondents after the FEC meeting, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammad Idris said President Tinubu also reiterated his directive to the defence to ensure that the children are rescued and brought back safely to their homes.
He also said the President made his stance against payment of ransom to kidnappers and that the current administration is determined to tackle kidnapping and other criminal activities in the country.
According to him, under the current government, kidnapping, especially mass abduction will not be tolerated.
This coming after the Kaduna state government said it would not dialogue with the bandits to release the 287 schoolchildren kidnapped from Kuriga Government Secondary and LEA Primary Schools in the Chikun Local Government Area of the state.
The government also refuted claims that it had hired a private negotiator to facilitate the release of the victims.
Meanwhile, Kaduna-based Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has disclosed his intention to dialogue with bandits who abducted about 287 schoolchildren from Kuriga Government Secondary and LEA Primary Schools in the Chikun Local Government Area of the state.
Gumi said this in a bid to facilitate the release of the abducted schoolchildren should President Bola Tinubu give him the opportunity to negotiate.
Gumi had previously negotiated on behalf of state governments to free abducted people by bandits.
According to the prominent Islamic scholar, Tinubu must not repeat the mistake made by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who refused to dialogue with bandits.
Gumi said;“The government’s stand of no negotiation with the bandits is an unfortunate position. My advice is that the government should dialogue with the bandits not only for these Kuriga school children’s abductions but all cases.
“Also, the government should use the same approach it used in releasing passengers that were abducted on the Abuja–Kaduna train in 2022 to release the Kuriga school children and others.
“I am ready to lead a holistic dialogue between the government and bandits. It is my religious duty to do so for peace.
“I hope the present government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will listen by dialoguing with the bandits because the past administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari refused to do so.”
