Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesperson for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has accused the federal government of making deals with insurgents in order to secure the release of abductees.
Recently, there has been an uptick in abductions and
killings, especially in the north of the country.
There have been no reports of killings or arrests of the
abductors after victims are freed.
In an interview with Arise TV on Monday, Bayo Onanuga,
special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, said the
latest release was thanks to the DSS and the military.
He said the gunmen knew that if they did not cooperate, they
were going to be “pummelled”.
Onanuga added that a kinetic approach would have been
counterproductive because terrorists often use abductees as “human shields”,
which could result in “collateral damage”.
‘FG MAKING DEALS WITH INSURGENTS’
Reacting on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ programme
on Wednesday, Abdullahi alleged that the federal government is “making deals
with insurgents” in a bid to free abducted victims.
“What is clear to us is that the government is making deals
with kidnappers, the government is making deals with insurgents,” he claimed.
“Perhaps because there may be different considerations, but
perhaps because they want a quick win, they want something to celebrate, then
they will not hesitate to make the kind of negotiation or deals that they are
doing.
“They are doing deals with insurgents. They can’t deny
that.”
Responding to concerns that he was suggesting official
complicity, Abdullahi said: “Leave the issue of how much they paid them, but
the point is that you said you talked to them, and they agreed to release the
people they captured.
“Now it means that you are in contact with them. You knew
them, so why didn’t you arrest them?
“Has a single arrest been made? Because for you to talk to
them to agree to release the people they kidnapped means that you know where
they were, and you actually had conversations with them — whether you begged
them or you bribed them or you did whatever — then they agreed to release those
people.
“They [the government] had conversations with them
[bandits]. So you mean these people just agreed to surrender?
“They were asking for N100 million per victim. So, you mean
you just went to them and said, ‘OK. Don’t do this again.’”
‘BANDITRY ECONOMY’
The former minister of sports said the government is
inadvertently deepening the “banditry economy”.
“I’m not questioning the intentions. The intention was to
rescue. But what we are saying is that the probable unintended consequence is
that the government, by doing deals with kidnappers, is unwittingly reinforcing
the banditry economy because you see what happened in the Ekiti local
government,” he said.
“After the release of the Eruku churchgoers, what happened
the following day? The very next day, they went to Isapa, a neighbouring
community, and abducted 11 people. Up to now, those 11 people are still in
captivity.
“So that is a danger of making deals with kidnappers, with criminals and terrorists, because when you make this with them, you are actually admitting that you are powerless, you are actually showcasing your vulnerability, and you are encouraging them to do more.”
The ADC spokesperson noted that while the safe return of the
children was celebrated nationwide, the approach is unsustainable.
“It’s not sustainable when you… we’ve been saying this
forever, that the government needed to escalate the security situation in the
country, and we are glad that the president is finally listening and declaring
a state of emergency,” he said.
“But again, we have to ask ourselves: What does that entail?
And we’ll have to watch in the coming days to see how this works.”
‘CLOSURE OF SCHOOLS REINFORCING BOKO HARAM IDEOLOGY’
“But for us, we are worried because let’s take the issue of
the schools that we have closed,” he said.
“When you close schools because bandits could go and kidnap
children, what you are saying is that, ‘I’m no longer capable of protecting my
schools.’
“And don’t forget the ideology of Boko Haram is that Western
education is forbidden.
“So by shutting down schools, you are reinforcing the Boko
Haram ideology.”
Abdullahi also rejected claims that the ADC is encouraging
insecurity or seeking US backing against Nigeria.
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