FG encouraging banditry economy by paying abductors, Bolaji Abdullahi alleges

Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesperson for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has accused the federal government of making deals with insurgents in order to secure the release of abductees.

Recently, there has been an uptick in abductions and killings, especially in the north of the country.

There have been no reports of killings or arrests of the abductors after victims are freed.

In an interview with Arise TV on Monday, Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, said the latest release was thanks to the DSS and the military.

He said the gunmen knew that if they did not cooperate, they were going to be “pummelled”.

Onanuga added that a kinetic approach would have been counterproductive because terrorists often use abductees as “human shields”, which could result in “collateral damage”.

‘FG MAKING DEALS WITH INSURGENTS’

Reacting on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ programme on Wednesday, Abdullahi alleged that the federal government is “making deals with insurgents” in a bid to free abducted victims.

“What is clear to us is that the government is making deals with kidnappers, the government is making deals with insurgents,” he claimed.

“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.”

Responding to concerns that he was suggesting official complicity, Abdullahi said: “Leave the issue of how much 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.

“They [the government] had conversations with them [bandits]. So you mean these people just agreed to surrender?

“They were asking for N100 million per victim. So, you mean you just went to them and said, ‘OK. Don’t do this again.’”

‘BANDITRY ECONOMY’

The former minister of sports said the government is inadvertently deepening 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,” he said.

“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.”

The ADC spokesperson noted that while the safe return of the children was celebrated nationwide, the approach is unsustainable.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

‘CLOSURE OF SCHOOLS REINFORCING BOKO HARAM IDEOLOGY’

He added that the closure of schools to avert further attacks suggests that the government can no longer guarantee the safety of educational institutions.

“But for us, we are worried because let’s take the issue of the schools that we have closed,” he said.

“When you close 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.”

Abdullahi also rejected claims that the ADC is encouraging insecurity or seeking US backing against Nigeria.