The Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has claimed that he refused to pay a ₦300million ransom demanded by kidnappers who abducted his brothers in 2019, insisting that yielding to such demands only strengthens criminal networks and fuels Nigeria’s worsening kidnapping crisis.
The governor made this known while speaking on Thursday at the ARISE News Town Hall Conference on state police and national security in Abuja.
Governor Lawal said he stood by his decision despite the emotional toll of having family members held captive for about three months.
Recounting the incident, the governor said the kidnappers demanded approximately ₦300million for the release of his brothers, but he refused to negotiate or make any payment.
“My own brothers were kidnapped in 2019, and the kidnappers demanded about ₦300million. I told them I was not going to pay a dime. If they wanted to kill them, they could go ahead,” Lawal said.
According to him, his brothers were eventually freed without any ransom being paid.
Lawal argued that paying ransom only encourages bandits and kidnappers to continue targeting innocent Nigerians, describing ransom payments as financial support for organised crime.
“If we continue to pay ransom, we are encouraging these criminals to kidnap more people. The cycle will only continue unless we stop rewarding criminality,” he said.
The governor maintained that his position remains unchanged, declaring that he would never negotiate with or pay criminals regardless of the circumstances.
“I will not negotiate, and I will not pay ransom to any criminal, no matter what happens,” he added.
Lawal also used the forum to renew his advocacy for the establishment of state police, arguing that governors currently bear responsibility for security in their states without having the constitutional authority to command security agencies.
He lamented that although governors are regarded as chief security officers of their states, they lack operational control over police and other security formations.
“In as much as I am called the chief security officer of the state, I do not have the command-and-control authority to direct the operations of the security agencies,” he said.
The Zamfara governor expressed readiness to fund a state police system if established, arguing that decentralised policing would strengthen intelligence gathering, improve response to security threats and enhance efforts to combat banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes across the country.
