FG won't pay a dime as ransom to free abducted children - Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has insisted that his government would pay no ransom to bandits and terrorists to secure the release of kidnapped victims in the country.

The President said this as he gave a further directive to security agencies to ensure the release of abducted children in Kaduna and Borno States.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this at the end of the third Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the State House in Abuja on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.

“So, the security agencies are working round the clock. These children and people who have been abducted by criminal elements will be brought back to safety pretty soon.

“And Mr President has also directed that no ransom will be paid by the government to any of these criminal elements. I think it’s important that this be put out there,” he said.

On Thursday, March 7, 2024, bandits kidnapped hundreds of students and staff from Kuriga Government Secondary and LEA Primary Schools in Kaduna State.

Three days prior, Boko Haram terrorists abducted over 200 internally displaced women and children at Gamboru-Ngala when they went out of the IDP camp in search of firewood in the bush.

The Borno Government said nine women have traced their way back to the camp.

Meanwhile, asked whether the government would consider the offer by foreign bodies to help rescue the kidnapped children, Idris said the government was looking at such offers.

“Well, we’re aware that it is not just the US that has actually offered. Other countries have also offered to support Nigeria.

“But what we can tell you is that the government is still reviewing these offers, and the position of government will be made known,” the minister said.