Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has revealed that he refused to pay a N300 million ransom when his brothers were abducted in 2019, insisting that paying kidnappers only encourages more abductions.
Speaking on Thursday at the ARISE News and THISDAY Townhall Conference in Abuja, Lawal said he stood his ground despite the personal cost.
“My own brothers were kidnapped in 2019, and these criminals were demanding about N300 million at the time. And I said, look, I’m not going to pay a dime. If you like, go and kill them.”
According to him, the kidnappers released his brothers after three months without receiving any ransom.
“By the time we continue to pay ransom to these people, we are encouraging them to keep kidnapping people more and more.”
He added, “I will not negotiate, and I will not pay ransom to any criminal, no matter what happens.”
Lawal made the remarks while advocating for the establishment of state police, arguing that governors cannot be held responsible for insecurity without operational control over security agencies.
“In as much as I was called or I’m being called the Chief Security Officer of the state, however, I don’t have the command and control structure to determine what happens or give instructions to some of these security officers.”
Questioning the current security arrangement, he asked, “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?”
The governor said Zamfara funds more than 30 per cent of security operations in the state and has procured over 500 vehicles for security agencies in the past three years, including 35 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.
He also disclosed that the state had acquired both surveillance and attack drones to support security operations.
“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.
