By Abdallah el-Kurebe
Niger state government has debunked media reports that it secretly paid ransom to three bandit groups to secure the release of the commissioner of information, Muhammed Sanni Idris.
The denial is contained in a statement by the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftancy Affairs and Internal Security, Emmanuel Umaru posted on his Facebook account on Saturday.
An online media, FIJ had quoted a bandit leader, Apabakura Dan Makaranta who claimed that Niger state government paid ransom to secure the release of the commissioner.
However, Umaru in the Facebook post said although Idris’ abductors demanded N500 million from his family, which was later reduced to N180 million, “the state government immediately mobilized a joint security manhunt of the bandits by blocking all known routes with a view to limiting their movements and sustained pressure in tracking the terrorists for four days in a mountainous areas of Tafa.”
He added that frustrated, the abductors abandoned the commissioner who was rescued and returned home to reunite with his family.
Read the statement below:
The attention of the Niger state government has been drawn to a publication circulating in some social media and online platforms, most especially by a medium called FIJ, where it alleged that the Niger state government secretly paid ransom to three Bandit groups, one of which got N67m, for the release of abducted commissioner for information. This is nothing but a lie from the pit of hell.
The state government would have ordinarily ignored such publication which is false, misleading and untrue in its entirety, but it is necessary to set the record straight, as such misleading information gives undue publicity to the activities of criminals and capable of ridiculing as well as undermining the efforts Government is putting in its fight against banditry and terrorism in the State.
According to the publication, one “Apabakura Dan-Makaranta, a 34-year-old bandit leader in Niger state, revealed that the government paid a ransom before Muhammed Sanni Idris, the state Commissioner for Information was released”.
It would be recalled that the former Commissioner for Information was abducted in his home in Baban Tunga, Tafa local government area of Niger state, on August 8, 2021.
A few hours after his abduction, the terrorists demanded N500 million from his family, which was later reduced to N180 million.
The state government immediately mobilized a joint security manhunt of the bandits by blocking all known routes with a view to limiting their movements and sustained pressure in tracking the terrorists for four days in a mountainous areas of Tafa axis.
Consequently, the frustrated abductors abandoned the said Commissioner and he was rescued and returned home to reunite with his family.
“Your government lied to you because it wanted to bury its shame,” FIJ quoted Dan Makaranta.
However, FIJ couldn’t explore his acclaimed investigative journalistic skills to further ask for physical or tangible evidence of such weighty allegations beyond mere quoting his source.
While we see this as a reckless, misleading, inaccurate, spurious and libellous publication, aimed at casting aspersions on the Abubakar Sani Bello led administration and undermine the successes made in the ongoing fight against terrorism in the state, the government will not be cowed or distracted by it.
Niger state government will continue to be bold in its commitment in fighting criminals and reiterating its policy of “no payment of ransom to terrorists” as it has been identified that terrorists use ransom to purchase more arms and ammunition to continue with their nefarious activities in the state and the state government cannot be seen empowering these criminals who are making every effort to make life unbearable to innocent citizens.
The state government hereby enjoin members of the public to disregard such fabricated report and see it as a move to smear the state government in its determination to flush out terrorists in the state.
It is also a deliberate attempt to trivialize the collective sacrifices made so far with a view to weaken the fighting spirit, doggedness and commitment of our security forces as well as the resilience of community members towards the fight against terrorism.
We also call on the publishers to immediately retract the report and tender an unreserved apology to the state government for this insensitive, ridiculous and fallacious publication, failure of which, the state government will not hesitate to take appropriate actions.
