Kidnappings: Tinubu turns down Sheikh Gumi’s offer to negotiate with bandits, says there’ll be no ransom payments

President Bola Tinubu turned down Sheikh Gumi’s offer to negotiate with bandits as he instructed security agencies in the country to ensure the safe return of all kidnap victims in different parts of the country.

Recall that the incidences of kidnapping, especially in the Northwest axis of the country, spiked in the last few days, with cases of ransom demands also shooting upwards.

A band of kidnappers, which kidnapped a total of 16 persons from the Gonin-Gora area of Kaduna metropolis, Kaduna State, had demanded N40 trillion, eleven Hilux Toyota bans and 150 motorcycles for the release of their victims.

Also, bandits in Sokoto State kidnapped 15 Qur’anic students, and recently established contact with the families, demanding a sum of N20 million as ransom before they would be released.

Again, about 61 locals were reportedly abducted by bandits in Buda community, Kajuru Local government Area of Kaduna State on Monday.

But Sheikh Gumi, a Kaduna-based Islamic cleric on Tuesday revealed his intention to dialogue with bandits who abducted about 287 schoolchildren from Kuriga Government Secondary and LEA Primary Schools in the Chikun Local Government Area of the state.

Gumi said this in a bid to facilitate the release of the abducted schoolchildren should President Bola Tinubu allow him to negotiate.

According to the prominent Islamic scholar, Tinubu must not repeat the mistake made by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who refused to dialogue with bandits.

“The government’s stand of no negotiation with the bandits is an unfortunate position. My advice is that the government should dialogue with the bandits not only for these Kuriga school children’s abductions but all cases.

“Also, the government should use the same approach it used in releasing passengers that were abducted on the Abuja–Kaduna train in 2022 to release the Kuriga school children and others.

“I am ready to lead a holistic dialogue between the government and bandits. It is my religious duty to do so for peace.

“I hope the present government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will listen by dialoguing with the bandits because the past administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari refused to do so,” said.

Gumi had previously negotiated on behalf of state governments to free abducted people by bandits.

In May 2021, one of the parents of the kidnapped students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna State, said rather than point an accusing finger at Gumi for being complicit in the banditry ravaging the country, Nigerians should commend the cleric for his interventions in seeking the release of abducted persons in the country.

However, Tinubu in an indirect reply to the offer made by Gumi tasked security agencies to ensure no ransom is paid to achieve this.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, disclosed this while addressing journalists at the State House, Abuja, after the week’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, which was presided over by President Tinubu.

ris said Tinubu was emphatic about his no-ransom-payment position, though he had told them to ensure all victims were rescued, without any excuse.

He said: “You’re also asking about the apparent surge in this kidnapping across the country. Now it is true that some of these are happening, we have seen what has happened in Kaduna, in Borno, and then in Sokoto.

“Of course, the government is watching that very closely and not just watching, but also ensuring that security agencies are taking proactive steps to ensure that this is halted significantly.

“Now, like I said, Mr. President has said that is an unacceptable situation and the government will not condone abductions or kidnappings or any kind of criminality in that direction.

“We’re seeing this happening and the government is taking very proactive steps, first to mitigate that, and also to stop the spread of this apparently.

“We are seeing that the more the security agencies are also hitting these targets or criminals, the more they are pushed to also getting some soft targets. But the government is not taking any excuses.

“The President has directed that security agencies must, as a matter of urgency, ensure that these children and all those who have been kidnapped are brought back in safety and also in the process to ensure that not a dime is paid for ransom.

“So it’s important to underscore that no dime, government is not paying anybody any dime and the government is optimistic that these children and other people that have been abducted will be brought back to their families in safety.”