Zamfara Governor Lawal Takes Tough Stand, Says I Will Never Pay Bandits Ransom

Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has reiterated that his administration will not negotiate with bandits or pay ransom to secure the release of kidnapped victims.

Lawal made the position known during an appearance on Channels Television, where he argued that ransom payments only provide criminals with additional resources to strengthen their operations and acquire sophisticated weapons.

According to Bush Radio Academy, the governor said he maintained the same position even when his own brothers were abducted by bandits, noting that he refused to pay the ransom demanded for their release.

Lawal explained that he told the abductors he would not provide them with money, arguing that paying criminals would only encourage further kidnappings and strengthen their capacity to carry out attacks.

He said his position against ransom payments had remained unchanged since he assumed office, stressing that kidnapping had increasingly become a criminal enterprise in which abductors demand money in exchange for the freedom of their victims.

The governor maintained that every payment made to bandits could potentially be used to acquire weapons and other resources needed to sustain criminal activities.

Lawal also criticised previous attempts by successive administrations to negotiate with bandit groups, arguing that such efforts were ineffective because the criminal groups operating in Zamfara and other parts of the region lack a central leadership structure.

According to him, negotiating with one group could prompt another group to intensify attacks in an attempt to gain recognition or secure similar concessions.

He explained that the fragmented nature of the groups made it difficult to establish a reliable negotiating partner, as there was no single authority capable of speaking for all the bandits.

Lawal therefore maintained that his administration would continue to reject negotiations and ransom payments as a strategy for addressing banditry, insisting that empowering criminals financially could worsen the security situation.