Senate Affirms: No Ransom Paid for Abductees

The Federal Government did not pay any ransom to secure the release of individuals recently abducted in Kebbi and Niger States, according to the Senate spokesman, Yemi Adaramodu. The Senator affirmed the government’s official position amid public speculation over the recent rescue operations.

Adaramodu made the statement on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief. He was specifically addressing public concerns regarding the absence of visible evidence, such as intense gunfights, showing clashes between security forces and the kidnappers.

“From our side at the National Assembly, we believe the Federal Government did not pay any ransom to anybody,” the spokesman, who represents Ekiti South senatorial district, stated on the breakfast show.

He explained that contact with the bandits can take multiple forms, emphasizing that such interactions are not limited to force. “If there is any contact with the bandits, there are several types, negative or positive. It can be through force or persuasion.”

Adaramodu cautioned the public against concluding that no military action took place merely because there were no visuals or public reports of arrests. He stressed that security agencies are not obligated to disclose the specifics of their operations.

He offered an alternative explanation for the victims’ release without visible confrontation. “If you have not seen the corpses of abductors or them being handcuffed from the forest, that does not mean there was no serious exchange of battle,” he stated.

The Senator suggested that the criminal elements often flee when faced with superior force. “When abductors realise that superior power is coming, they can abandon their victims and flee.”

Adaramodu firmly insisted that the military and other security agencies are not required to publicly disclose the detailed tactics of their operational strategies.

“The ways and manners of the military, how they rescue victims, cannot and will not be made public,” he said, adding that they will not report how many bullets were shot or how many guns were lost.

He concluded by stressing that the primary objective of both the Senate and the Federal Government is the safe rescue of victims, not the publication of tactical details. “What we know is that they went, they brought back those who were ferried into the forest, and that is what matters.”