President Bola Tinubu has reiterated that his administration will not negotiate with criminals or pay ransom to secure the release of kidnap victims, saying doing so would encourage terrorism and banditry.

Tinubu made the declaration on Thursday while receiving traditional rulers from Oyo State, led by the Olubadan of Ibadanland, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

“We refuse to pay ransom. We know the geography of the forests. We know what it is, and in response to it, you have seen that we are moving from eight divisions to 12 divisions to shorten the response time and give that response the teeth needed for us to defeat terrorism and banditry. It is very necessary, and we are doing so,” he said.

Tinubu disclosed that the abductors had demanded not only ransom but also the release of detained members of their criminal gang, a request the Federal Government rejected.

“We refuse to negotiate for ransom. These criminals wanted us to release from detention members of their criminal gangs who had already been arrested. That was one of their conditions, apart from the money they were looking for, and we said, ‘No deal.’

“We are not going to negotiate with criminals. They committed murder, and we were ready to finish with them. They have families and members of their own communities. Some of them are non-Nigerians. You see… the problem of insecurity in Mali, Burkina Faso and the Niger Republic is adding more fuel to our challenges,” the president stated.