Why we stop negotiating with kidnappers of students – FG

From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

The Federal Government has given reasons it stopped negotiations with kidnappers of students, saying they use the money from ransom to equip and rearm themselves.

The Minister of State for Education, Chief Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba made this disclosure while responding to questions from journalists at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the First Lady’s Conference Room, Presidential Villa, Abuja. 

Asked what the government was doing over the video that went viral where some of the kidnapped students in Kaduna State were being tortured by kidnappers, Nwajiuba, while reassuring Nigerians that efforts were being made to rescue the children said, negotiations had to stop because it’s been established that ransom payment was fueling and escalating insecurity in the country.

According to him, “Truly speaking, it is disheartening anytime any of our students are taken at any point, I can assure you that the federal government is doing all that it can. We have held several meetings with our security personnel and that whole region.

“Insecurity at the school level, you may understand stems from insecurity around the area. Before we had Chibok, there was Boko Haram in the area. It is the success of the military  more or less, in incapacitating Boko Haram in the northeast, that led to some level of insurgents in the Northwest. And as bandits appeared they started striking randomly at some of our schools from Jengave, Kangara. You know, everywhere. And the places where they’ve had to go, we’ve pursued them.