FG has rescued 1,000 kidnap victims without ransom, NSA reveals

Kunle Sanni

The Federal Government, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, has successfully rescued over 1,000 kidnap victims without paying any ransom, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu disclosed.

Ribadu said president Tinubu has pledged to strengthen law enforcement and security measures to prevent such incidents and improve physical security in vulnerable communities.

According to him, the President also thanks those involved in the successful rescue of over a thousand victims of mass abductions without losing anyone or paying ransom.

In recent years, Nigeria has faced the issue of Kidnap-for-ransom crimes, which are mainly carried out by bandits operating in the north-west region of the country.

According to a 2022 report by SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based security and political risk research firm, about N653.7 million was paid as ransom in Nigeria between July 2021 and June 2022, which spans a period of one year, in exchange for the release of kidnapped victims.

He said, “On behalf of the President, I thank all those involved in the successful rescue of the victims without losing anyone of them or paying any ransom.

“This is yet again a success story in our efforts to free all those being unlawfully held in captivity.

“We have so far released over a thousand such victims without noise and with complete respect to their privacy and safety.

“This occasion marks a final juncture in a series of rescues we have undertaken in the last few months, to free victims of recent cases of mass abductions.

“Going forward, we are strengthening law enforcement and security measures to prevent these abductions and strengthen physical security across vulnerable communities.”