The spokesman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, has accused the Federal Government of “making deals with insurgents” in a bid to free abducted victims.
He stated this while reacting to the release of 24 schoolgirls who were abducted by bandits during an attack on the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School (GGCSS), Maga, Kebbi State.
“What is clear to us is that the government is making deals with kidnappers, the government is making deals with insurgents.
“Perhaps because there may be different considerations, but perhaps because they want a quick win, they want something to celebrate, then they will not hesitate to make the kind of negotiation or deals that they are doing.
“They are doing deals with insurgents. They can’t deny that,” Abdullahi said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday.
According to sources, the attackers killed the school’s Vice Principal, Malam Hassan Makuku, before abducting several schoolgirls.
When reminded that he was making allegations of complicity, Abdullahi said, “Leave the issue of how much they paid them, or how they paid them, but the point is that you said you talked to them, and they agreed to release the people they captured.
“Now it means that you are in contact with them. You knew them, so why didn’t you arrest them? Has a single arrest been made? Because for you to talk to them to agree to release the people they kidnapped means that you know where they were, and you actually had conversations with them — whether you begged them or you bribed them or you did whatever — then they agreed to release those people.
According to sources, the attackers killed the school’s Vice Principal, Malam Hassan Makuku, before abducting several schoolgirls.
While reacting to the claim by the Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, that no ransom was paid to the bandits before the schoolgirls were released, the ADC spokesman said, “They [the government] had conversations with them [bandits]. So you mean these people just agreed to surrender?
“They were asking for ₦100 million per victim. So, you mean you just went to them and said, ‘OK. Don’t do this again.”
“Banditry Economy”
Abdullahi, a former Minister of Sports, alleged that the government was reinforcing the banditry “economy”.
“I’m not questioning the intentions. The intention was to rescue. But what we are saying is that the probable unintended consequence is that the government, by doing deals with kidnappers, is unwittingly reinforcing the banditry economy because you see what happened in the Ekiti Local Government.
“After the release of the Eruku churchgoers, what happened the following day? The very next day, they went to Isapa, a neighbouring community, and abducted 11 people. Up to now, those 11 people are still in captivity.
“So that is a danger of making deals with kidnappers, with criminals and terrorists, because when you make this with them, you are actually admitting that you are powerless, you are actually showcasing your vulnerability, and you are encouraging them to do more.
According to him, while Nigerians are glad that the victims were united with their families, the approach was not strategic.
“It’s not sustainable when you. We’ve been saying this forever, that the government needed to escalate the security situation in the country, and we are glad that the president is finally listening and declaring a state of emergency.
“But again, we have to ask ourselves: What does that entail? And we’ll have to watch in the coming days to see how this works.
Schools Shutdown, B’Haram Ideology
He further alleged that the government’s decision to shut educational institutions to forestall further abductions showed that the government was no longer capable of protecting the schools.
“But for us, we are worried because let’s take the issue of the schools that we have closed. When you closed schools because bandits could go and kidnap children, what you are saying is that, ‘I’m no longer capable of protecting my schools.’
“And don’t forget the ideology of Boko Haram is that Western education is forbidden. So by shutting down schools, you are reinforcing the Boko Haram ideology,” he added.
He said that it did not have to take President Donald Trump’s military threat for President Bola Tinubu to begin to take the recent steps to address the security challenges.
Abdullahi also denied allegations that the ADC was fueling insecurity in the country and lobbying the US against Nigeria.
The schoolgirls, who were kidnapped during an attack that left the Vice Principal, Malam Hassan Makuku, dead, on November 17, regained their freedom on Tuesday.
Following the heightened fears over insecurity in the country, President Tinubu on Wednesday declared a nationwide security emergency.
