The Federal Government says it will not pay ransom to secure the release of students and teachers of Government Science College, Kagara in Niger State.
Bandits attacked the school and abducted 27 students and 17 staff on Wednesday. They also killed a student during the attack.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said this on Saturday during a television interview.
After the bandits attack Federal government delegation, led by Minster of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, visited Minna, the state capital, but failed to visit the crime scene at Kagara.
A Kaduna-Based Islamic Scholar, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, visited the bandits at their enclave to negotiate the release of the students.
The Niger State officials also accompanied Gumi for the negotiation.
The Minister’s statement is coming following speculations that the Federal Government was prepared to exchange the abductees for huge ransom.
But when asked during the interview whether the government had paid ransom or was considering the payment of ransom, the minister said, “No”.
He said: “Bandits all over the world work with psychology of people. Deliberately, they target women and children because this is what will attract a lot of global outcry. That is exactly what bandits do all over the world.
“We employ kinetic and non-kinetic approach, you don’t throwaway invitation to engage but the overall strategy you keep to your chest.
“I was in Minna with my colleagues, the Ministers of Interior and Police Affairs, the IG, and the National Security Adviser on Wednesday to get firsthand information on the abduction of these Kagara schoolboys. I can tell you that as at today that the government is on top of the matter.”
