- Says FG Will Not Succumb To Bandits’ Blackmail Tactics
From Segun Amure, (The New Diplomat’s Abuja Bureau)
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday warned against the payment of ransom to bandits to free captives, noting that the recent spate of abductions suggests the nation is currently witnessing the “boomerang” effect of the underhand tactics.
Buhari said this much, while reacting to the abduction of 317 students from Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in Zamfara State, early Friday.
Buhari’s reaction was contained in a statement released by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
The statement was a rebuttal to the action of Zamfara state Governor, Bello Matawalle and Sheikh Abubakar Gumi among others, who have been romancing the bandits despite their brazen act of criminality.
The bandits have reportedly collected huge amounts as ransom from private citizens and state actors to free their captives in the past.
Also, Governor Matawalle has been patting the bandits on the back with his widely reported peace deal with the aggressors terrorizing the Nigeria’s Northwest. Recall the popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Gumi recently met with the bandits and has since been making case for the bandits to be granted amnesty.
But President Buhari in the statement by Shehu stated that his administration will not succumb to bandits who target innocent lives to get huge ransom payments.
Buhari, who described the latest abduction as inhumane and totally unacceptable, also sent out strong warning to bandits and their sponsors.
He said he would ensure the safe return of the Jangebe captives unharmed.
His statement reads, “this administration will not succumb to blackmail by bandits who target innocent school students in the expectation of huge ransom payments.”
According to the President, “no criminal group can be too strong to be defeated by the government,” adding that, “the only thing standing between our security forces and the bandits are the rules of engagement.”
“We have the capacity to deploy massive force against the bandits in the villages where they operate, but our limitation is the fear of heavy casualties of innocent villagers and hostages who might be used as human shields by the bandits,” he said, stressing that “our primary objective is to get the hostages safe, alive and unharmed.”
President Buhari noted that “a hostage crisis is a complex situation that requires maximum patience in order to protect the victims from physical harm or even brutal death at the hands of their captors.”
He warned the bandits: “Let them not entertain any illusions that they are more powerful than the government. They shouldn’t mistake our restraint for the humanitarian goals of protecting innocent lives as a weakness or a sign of fear or irresolution.”
The President appealed to state governments “to review their policy of rewarding bandits with money and vehicles, warning that the policy might boomerang disastrously.”
However, he advised states and local governments to be more proactive by improving security around schools and their surroundings.
