I refused to pay ₦300m ransom for my kidnapped brothers — Zamfara Governor

Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has revealed that he refused to pay a ₦300 million ransom demanded by kidnappers who abducted his brothers in 2019, insisting that paying ransom only encourages kidnapping and other criminal activities.

Lawal made the disclosure on Thursday while speaking at the ARISE News/THISDAY Town Hall Conference on State Police and National Security in Abuja, where he reiterated his opposition to negotiating with bandits and renewed his call for the establishment of state police.

The governor recalled that his brothers spent about three months in captivity after they were abducted but said he remained resolute despite the kidnappers’ demand.

“My own brothers were kidnapped in 2019, and the kidnappers demanded about ₦300 million. I told them I was not going to pay a dime. If they wanted to kill them, they could go ahead,” he said.

According to Lawal, his brothers were eventually released without any ransom being paid.

He argued that paying ransom provides financial incentives for criminal groups and encourages them to continue abducting innocent people.

“If we continue to pay ransom, we are encouraging these criminals to kidnap more people. The cycle will only continue unless we stop rewarding criminality,” he said.

The governor maintained that his position has not changed, stressing that he would neither negotiate with nor pay ransom to criminals under any circumstances.

“I will not negotiate, and I will not pay ransom to any criminal, no matter what happens,” he added.

Lawal also renewed his call for the creation of state police, arguing that governors currently bear responsibility for security without having the constitutional authority to direct security agencies operating in their states.

“In as much as I am called the chief security officer of the state, I do not have the command-and-control authority to direct the operations of the security agencies,” he said.

He added that he was willing to support the funding of state police if established, expressing confidence that decentralised policing would improve intelligence gathering, enhance response time and strengthen the fight against insecurity across the country.