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Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal said on Thursday that he refused to pay a N300 million ransom when his brothers were kidnapped in 2019, arguing that such payments encourage more abductions.
Lawal disclosed this while speaking at a security conference in Abuja.
He said his brothers were released after three months in captivity without any ransom being paid.
“My own brothers were kidnapped in 2019, and these criminals were demanding at the time about 300 million. And I said, look, I’m not going to pay a dime. If you like, go and kill them,” Lawal said.
The governor said paying ransoms only emboldens criminals.
“By the time we continue to pay ransom to these people, we are encouraging them to be kidnapping people more and more,” he said.
His stance remains unchanged, he said.
“I will not negotiate, and I will not pay ransom to any criminal, no matter what happens,” Lawal declared.
The governor used the occasion to renew his call for state policing, saying governors should have operational control over security in their states.
He said being designated chief security officer carried little meaning without command authority over security agencies.
“In as much as I was called or I’m being called the chief security officer of the states, however, I don’t have the command and control structure to determine what happens or give instructions to some of these security officers,” he said.
Lawal questioned how governors could be held accountable for insecurity without control over policing.
“Why is it difficult for people to understand that my primary responsibility is the protection of lives and property, and I don’t have that control? How do you hold me accountable?” he asked.
He said state police would strengthen accountability and enable states to provide adequate funding and training for personnel.
Lawal said the Nigeria Police Force suffers from inadequate funding and poor welfare, both of which affect officers’ effectiveness.
He said Zamfara funds more than 30 percent of security operations in the state and has procured over 500 vehicles for security agencies in the last three years.
The state recently provided 35 Armoured Personnel Carriers and Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, he said.
Lawal also said drones were being deployed to aid security forces.
“We bought drones, both surveillance drones and attack drones, to be able to aid the security forces in terms of fighting these criminals in their respective areas,” he said.
