Federal Government Didn’t Pay Ransom To Rescue Abducted Victims, Says Senate Spokesperson

The spokesperson for the Senate, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, has stated that the Federal Government did not pay any ransom to secure the release of victims abducted in Kebbi and Niger States.

Adaramodu stated this on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, while responding to concerns about the lack of visible evidence of confrontations between security operatives and kidnappers during recent rescue operations.

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“From our side at the National Assembly, we believe the Federal Government did not pay any ransom to anybody,” he said.

“If there is any contact with the bandits, there are several types, negative or positive. It can be through force or persuasion.”

Adaramodu also cautioned against assuming that military action did not occur simply because no images or footage of arrests were presented.

“If you have not seen the corpses of abductors or them being handcuffed from the forest, that does not mean there was no serious exchange of battle,” he stated.

“When abductors realise that superior power is coming, they can abandon their victims and flee.”

On the recent Kebbi school abduction, he confirmed that the Senate has set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the circumstances, including reports that soldiers assigned to guard the school had left their posts shortly before the attack.

“We were made to understand, especially from the government of the state, that the soldiers guarding that place left, and minutes later those people struck and kidnapped our children,” Adaramodu said.

The committee will also probe the death of Brigadier General Musa Uba, who was involved in security operations against banditry. This development has raised questions about operational readiness in volatile areas.

Emphasising the confidentiality of military tactics, Adaramodu said, “The ways and manners of the military, how they rescue victims, cannot and will not be made public. As a security agency, they will not tell us how many bullets they shot or how many guns they lost.”

He added, “The job we gave them is to rescue the victims—our girls, our parents, our worshippers. What we know is that they went, they brought back those who were ferried into the forest, and that is what matters.”