- Safiu Kehinde
President Bola Tinubu has revealed reason behind the Federal Government’s decision not to pay the ransom fo the release of the abducted students and teachers of Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo state before their rescue.
Tinubu made this known during his address while hosting the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, and his council on Thursday.
Citing the Oriire abducrion in his address on inseucrity, the President attributed the successful rescue operation to effective data gathering on the geographical nature of the area.
“We refused to pay ransom because we have the geography of the forest, we know what it is and in answer to it, you see that Tinubu said.
The president further noted his administration’s ongoing effort in strenghtening the military capacity, citing the recent incremenr in number of military division as an example.
“From 8 divisions, we are now moving to 12 divisions to shorten the response time to defeat terrorism and banditry, it is very necessary and we are doing so” He said.
In his remark, the Oba Ladoja commended Tinubu over his stance against the payment of ransom for the release of the abducted students and teachers.
“When kidnapping of school children occurred in Oyo, we were apprehensive and questioned what the federal and state governments were doing.
“But we have now seen that, working with your security forces, you have turned the tide on kidnapping in Nigeria.
“Your decision not to pay ransom and to stand firm shows that we have a government that knows what it is doing.” The Olubadan said.