Hon. Minister for Information and National Orientation
‘In keeping with the commitment of Mr. President, no ransom was paid’ so said the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Hon. Mohammed Idris Malagi after the Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday 24th March 2024. He made this note in relation to claims in the public that ransom was paid for the release of 137 pupils kidnapped from Kuriga, Chikun Local Government Area, Kaduna State.
According to Idris, the President appreciated the role of the security services in the safe return of the abductees, vowing that all those involved in the abduction would be fished out and punished. On March 6, at the pupils were kidnapped when terrorists on motorcycles stormed their school, whisking them away in an operation that drew condemnation and outrage from the Presidency and the global community, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
In a separate statement issued by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, he noted that 137 pupils were rescued contrary to reports of 287. According to Buba, the pupils were rescued through a joint effort of the military and local authorities in Zamfara State in the early hours of Sunday.
Addressing questions on Sheikh Gumi, TheMediaGood Newspaper quotes the minister, ‘What I can tell you is that the government will stop at nothing to get any kind of information that is required to solve our problems. Sheikh Gumi or any other individual for that matter is not above the law. If you have suggestions that are constructive enough for security agencies to take, they will take it. But if they think that he is also making some statements that appear to be reckless, he will also be reprimanded.’
It would be recalled that Kaduna-based Muslim cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi had earlier offered to dialogue with the terrorists who abducted the schoolchildren from Kuriga for a ransom.