‘If My Son Is Kidnapped, I Will Rather Pray For Him To Make Heaven Than Pay Any Ransom’ – Governor El-Rufai
The Governor of Kaduna State, Governor Nasir El-Rufai has once again stated that paying ransoms to bandits and kidnappers is not in his dictionary.
According to him, even if his own son were to be kidnapped by suspected bandits, he will not pay a dime for his release.
He made this known during a radio interview on April 9. He was asked by the interviewer whether his administration is considering paying ransom to secure the release of the students abducted by bandits from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Kaduna, and he said;
“I mean it and I will say it again here. Even if my son is kidnapped, I will rather pray for him to make heaven instead because I won’t pay any ransom.”
Meanwhile, he has asked Nigeria’s security forces to take the war to the bandits.
According to him, that is the only war all forests occupied by these bandits and other criminals can be recovered.
He indicated that these bandits war with Nigeria and are challenging the sovereignty of Nigeria. He made these comments at a town hall meeting on national security organized by the Ministry of Information and Culture in Kaduna.
In his submission, he said;
“The bandits are at war with Nigeria and there is no other way to approach the current insurgency but for security forces to take the war to the bandits and recover forests where they are occupying.
We are in a war with these terrorist challenging the sovereignty of the Nigerian state. Our security forces must collaborate to take the war to the bandits and terrorist, recover and restore the forest to enable our law-abiding citizens to engage in legitimate farming and livestock production. To address the banditry prevalent in the Northwest and Northcentral, we must implement the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) produced four years ago to enable accelerated investment in modern animal husbandry, incorporating the rapid sedentarisation of herders in known locations.”
