Nigeria Won’t Negotiate With Criminals Or Pay Ransom – Tinubu

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has explained that his administration maintains a strict policy against negotiating with criminals or paying ransom, saying the Federal Government recently rejected kidnappers’ demands for money and the release of detained members of their gang.

The president stated this on Thursday at the State House, Abuja, while receiving traditional rulers from Oyo State led by the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja.

Tinubu disclosed that the kidnappers responsible for the Oriire school abduction had demanded not only ransom but also the release of members of their gang who were already in detention. He said the government rejected both demands.

“We refuse to negotiate for ransom. These criminals wanted us to release from detention members of their criminal gangs who were already arrested. That was one of their conditions, in addition to the money they’re looking for, and we said no deal. We are not going to negotiate with criminals,” the president said.

He said the criminals had committed murder and insisted that his administration would not negotiate with them.

The president noted that Nigeria’s security challenges had been compounded by instability in neighbouring Mali, Burkina Faso and the Niger Republic, making it imperative to strengthen the country’s security architecture.

To address the situation, Tinubu said the government was expanding the operational capacity of the armed forces by increasing the number of military divisions from eight to 12 to reduce response times and improve operations against terrorists and bandits.

“We’ve given a geographical and numerical answer to the challenges. From eight divisions, we are now moving to 12 divisions to shorten the response time and give that response the teeth needed for us to defeat terrorism and banditry,” he said.

The president also reaffirmed plans to establish state police, saying the initiative would address security gaps at the grassroots while incorporating safeguards against abuse.

“There will be state police, and that state police will have guardrails against abuses. We will protect it from abuses, and you, traditional rulers, too, will have a role to play more,” he said.

Tinubu further disclosed that the Federal Government was strengthening the capacity of forest guards to flush out criminals operating in forests across the country.

“They are not just to chase antelopes and animals. We are going to have them chase the criminals and deal with them in various forests,” he said.

He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant by monitoring activities in their communities and promptly reporting suspicious persons and activities to security agencies, stressing that intelligence gathering remains critical to tackling insecurity.

Earlier, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, commended the president for his handling of the recent kidnapping incident in Oyo State, describing the Federal Government’s refusal to pay ransom or negotiate with kidnappers as a turning point in Nigeria’s fight against kidnapping.

“The fact that you did not pay ransom, the fact that you stood your ground, shows that we now have a government that knows what it is doing,” the monarch said.

According to him, residents of Oyo State had feared the incident could become another prolonged kidnapping crisis, but the government’s response restored public confidence.

“It has now brought a turning point in the issue of kidnapping in Nigeria, not only in Oyo State, because people now know that we have a president who will not negotiate from a position of weakness with any kidnapper,” he said.

The traditional ruler, however, urged the president not to reduce the security presence in the forest stretching from Oyo State through Kwara to Niger State, warning that criminals could regroup if the area was abandoned after the operation.

Oba Ladoja also praised the Tinubu administration for ongoing infrastructure projects in Oyo State, saying the state currently has about 10 Federal Government projects worth more than N2 trillion, particularly road projects that would transform connectivity and economic activities in the region.

LEADERSHIP Friday recalls that on May 15, 2026, 44 pupils and teachers from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State were abducted by terrorists linked to the Ansaru group.

The victims were rescued on July 10 after spending 56 days in captivity following a joint intelligence-led operation by security agencies and local vigilantes.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has already sentenced three suspects — Abdulrazak Umar, Yunusa Musa and Shamsu Adamu Sani — to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges. Five others, including two alleged Ansaru commanders, are currently standing trial on fresh terrorism and murder charges in connection with the incident.