The Digest:
President Bola Tinubu's Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has categorically stated that the federal government maintains a policy of "zero tolerance" for negotiating with terrorists, despite recent high-profile kidnappings and claims by abductors to have received ransoms.
Key Points:
- Presidential aide Daniel Bwala asserted the Tinubu administration has a "zero tolerance" policy on negotiating with terrorists, calling it constructive financing of terrorism.
- He acknowledged that past governments, both federal and state, had engaged in negotiations to preserve lives.
- Bwala stated the federal government did not pay ransom for the recent release of abducted Kebbi schoolgirls.
- He argued that terrorist claims of receiving payments are "propaganda" lacking credible evidence.
- The adviser listed alternative reasons for hostage releases, including pressure from military encirclement, community intermediaries, or the abductors' own fear.
- He conceded that some families and state governments still pay ransoms independently.
- Bwala attributed the entrenched crisis to a problem "inherited by this government," emphasizing a focus on long-term security resolution.
Sources: The Cable, Daily Post
