Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has reaffirmed his opposition to negotiating with bandits, saying ransom payments enable kidnappers to acquire sophisticated weapons and carry out further attacks.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television, Lawal said his position had remained unchanged since taking office. “I would say this: my stance has always been no negotiation with the bandits. From day one, and I still maintain that stance,” he said. “People are going into this because it’s more like a business now: kidnapping people, asking for ransom. You are empowering the bandits.
“Because for every dime that you pay, that is what they use to get all these sophisticated weapons they use. If they don’t get the money, how do you think they’ll get the weapons?” The governor recalled the kidnapping of two of his brothers, saying their abductors demanded N300 million for each person. He said he refused to pay.
“You already have these people under your custody. You came to pick them yourself. They didn’t go there. They even came to their houses and picked them,” he said. “And you expect me to pay money to secure their freedom? I said no, I would not do that. Because I would rather do something with that money. I’m a very strong believer that if they are meant to die, within that period, they would die.
“Nobody would do anything. But I would not give up my money to a criminal and empower him to do more.” Lawal also criticised negotiations conducted under previous administrations, arguing that the lack of a unified leadership among bandit groups made such efforts ineffective.
He said reaching an agreement with one group could prompt another to carry out attacks to demand recognition. “It happens severally, and I’ve seen it. Where when you negotiate with A, B would think that you’re underrating him,” he said. “And therefore, that is when he would show that he’s also, you know, somebody to recognise. So how do you go into negotiations with this kind of people? Nobody takes responsibility. Nobody takes leadership.”