President Bola Tinubu has declared that his administration will not pay ransom to terrorists, insisting that the Federal Government will continue to deploy strategic measures to defeat criminal elements across the country.
Tinubu made the declaration on Thursday while receiving the Olubadan of Ibadanland and members of the Olubadan-in-Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Commending the armed forces for the successful rescue operation in Oyo State, the President said the government would continue to review its security architecture to address emerging threats.
“Congratulations on the Oyo State rescue that succeeded. I think we succeeded with your support and prayers. I agree with you that we should commend the men and women of the armed forces for their excellent performance,” he said.
According to Tinubu, every security challenge presents an opportunity to strengthen the country’s response strategy.
“As we emphasise the question of security, each event teaches us new methods, opens our eyes, challenges us to examine and re-examine our architecture, our strategy, our map and operations,” he added.
The President stressed that paying ransom to kidnappers and terrorists would not be part of his administration’s approach.
“We refuse to pay ransom. We have the geography of the forest, we know what it is, and an answer to it,” Tinubu stated.
He disclosed that the Nigerian Army is being expanded from eight to 12 divisions to improve response time and enhance the fight against terrorism.
“You’ve seen that from eight divisions now, we are moving to 12 divisions to shorten the response time and give that response time the teeth needed for us to defeat terrorism,” he said.
Tinubu also reiterated the Federal Government’s plan to establish state police to strengthen security at the grassroots while putting safeguards in place to prevent abuse.
“There will be state police. And as state police, we have a guardrail from abuses; we will protect it from abuses,” he said.
The President further called on traditional rulers to support ongoing security efforts, noting that forest guards were being strengthened to flush out criminals from forests.
“We are equally enhancing the capacity and capability of the forest guards. They are not just to chase antelopes and animals; we are going to have them chase the criminals and deal with them in various forests,” Tinubu added.
