I rejected ₦300m ransom demand for my kidnapped brothers — Zamfara Gov

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ABUJA — Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has revealed that he refused to pay a ₦300 million ransom demanded by kidnappers who abducted his brothers in 2019, maintaining that paying ransom only fuels kidnapping and other criminal activities.

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The governor disclosed this on Thursday while speaking at the ARISE News/THISDAY Town Hall Conference on State Police and National Security in Abuja, where he reiterated his opposition to negotiating with bandits and renewed his support for the establishment of state police.

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Lawal recounted that his brothers were held captive for about three months after their abduction, but he declined to meet the kidnappers’ ransom demand despite the personal ordeal.

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“My own brothers were kidnapped in 2019, and the kidnappers demanded about ₦300 million. I told them I was not going to pay a dime. If they wanted to kill them, they could go ahead,” he said.

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According to the governor, his brothers were eventually released without any ransom being paid.

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He argued that paying ransom emboldens criminal groups by providing financial incentives for further kidnappings.

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“If we continue to pay ransom, we are encouraging these criminals to kidnap more people. The cycle will only continue unless we stop rewarding criminality,” Lawal said.

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The governor stressed that his position on ransom payments remains unchanged, insisting that he would neither negotiate with nor pay criminals under any circumstances.

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“I will not negotiate, and I will not pay ransom to any criminal, no matter what happens,” he said.

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Lawal used the occasion to renew his call for the establishment of state police, arguing that governors should have greater operational authority over security within their states.

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He said the current constitutional arrangement leaves governors with responsibility for security without corresponding powers to direct security agencies.

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“In as much as I am called the chief security officer of the state, I do not have the command-and-control authority to direct the operations of the security agencies,” he said.

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The governor added that he was prepared to support the funding of state police if the proposed policing structure is established, expressing confidence that decentralised policing would improve intelligence gathering, response time and the overall fight against insecurity.

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