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Tinubu Reads Riot Act to Security Agencies, Declares No More Ransom Payment to Kidnappers
President Bola Tinubu has again, directed that on no condition should ransom be paid by government to kidnappers, bandits or other criminal elements for the release of their victims, as he read the country’s security agencies the riot act following incessant kidnap incidents.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, revealed the directive yesterday in Abuja while briefing newsmen at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, chaired by Tinubu at the State House.
The federal government also said it was still reviewing offers from the United States and other countries to help in rescue missions, saying it would disclose its decision soon.
The comments came as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, assured residents of improved security, including reduction in cases of kidnapping, in the nation’s capital.
At the same time, Commissioner, FCT Police Command, Benedict Igweh, disclosed that the correctional officer, Usman Ishaya Magaji, who shot and killed a convicted offender, Ibrahim Yahaya, at Wuse market on Tuesday, had been arrested for interrogation.
The government’s decision to put a damper on kidnapping for ransom followed recent incidents, particularly in Kaduna State, where some children were kidnapped and held in captivity while their abductors demanded billions of naira for their release.
Idris briefed newsmen on the latest developments at the end of the FEC meeting yesterday.
He stated, “In council today, Mr. President reiterated his directive to the security agencies and the Ministry of Defence to ensure that those our kids that have been abducted by these criminal gangs are brought back to their homes safely.
“Mr President has also reiterated his zero tolerance for payment of ransom. That was also mentioned by Mr. President at the council today. So, the security agencies are working round the clock.
“So, these children and people that have been abducted by criminal elements will be brought back to safety pretty soon. The security agencies are working hard in that direction.
“And Mr. President has also directed that no ransom will be paid by government to any of these criminal elements. It is important that it will be put out there.”
On the rising wave of kidnapping in the country, Idris said, “You’re also asking about the apparent surge in this kidnapping across the country. Now, it is true that some of these are happening, we have seen what has happened in Kaduna, in Borno and then in Sokoto.
“Of course, government is watching that very closely and not just watching, also ensuring that security agencies are taking proactive steps to ensure that this is halted significantly.
“Now, like I said, Mr. President has said it is an unacceptable situation and the government will not condone abductions or kidnappings or any kind of criminality in that direction.
“We’re seeing this happening and government is taking very proactive steps, first, to mitigate that, and also to stop the spread of this apparently.
“We are seeing that the more the security agencies are also hitting these targets or criminals, the more they are pushed to also getting some soft targets. But government is not taking any excuses.
“The president has directed that security agencies must, as a matter of urgency, ensure that these children and all those who have been kidnapped are brought back in safety and also in the process to ensure that not a dime is paid for ransom.
“So, it’s important to underscore that no dime, government is not paying anybody any dime and the government is optimistic that these children and other people that have been abducted will be brought back to their families in safety.”
Asked what specific support the United States was prepared to offer Nigeria in the rescue of the kidnapped children, the minister said other countries had also offered to help.
He stated, “Talking about what support, if any, are we getting from other countries, specifically the US, well, we’re aware that it’s not just the US that has actually offered.
“Other countries have also offered to support Nigeria. But what we can tell you is that government is still reviewing these offers and the position of government will be made known to you.”
Wike Assures of Improved Security in FCT
FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, assured of improved security, including reduction in kidnapping, in the nation’s capital.
Wike gave the assurance yesterday after a closed-door meeting with the FCT Commissioner of Police, Benedict Igweh, and the Senate on the state of security in the territory.
The minister said regarding the meeting, “It’s nothing difficult, just normal interactions, just to brief them on what we have done as regards security in the FCT.
“I am glad they are all happy with what we have done and what we are going to be doing and the suggestion, which they have given to us but which I cannot disclose to the members of public. This is just a very interactive session.
“What is important is what the FCT should expect from now. I will say improved security, more infrastructure. You can see what is going on in the FCT. It has been turned into a construction site and you can also see what has happened in the FCTA.
“Now we have our own Civil Service Commission, now we have our own permanent secretaries, which had never been. There are new things in the FCT and the residents are happy.” Wike added that from the interaction with the senators, it was agreed that security had improved in the FCT.
“Let me also say that there is no part of the world where criminality has been eradicated. We have heard several times in the United States of America, where criminals go to schools and shoot students.
“So, people should not have that impression that you cannot have one crime or the other. What we need is being able to limit or reduce the level of insecurity.
“But if anybody tells you that as societies are concerned, you will not have one crime or the other, that is not correct and we must tell ourselves the simple truth. Also, most of the kidnapping stories you hear, some of them are stage-managed by people.”
Police Nab Killer of Wuse Market Offender
FCT Commissioner of Police, Benedict Igweh, said the correctional officer, Usman Ishaya Magaji, who shot and killed a convicted offender, Ibrahim Yahaya at Wuse market on Tuesday had been arrested for questioning.
Igweh also said sanity had been restored to the market. He assured the people that the FCT Police Command would continue to work for the security of the residents, stating that the force would continue to comb the forests bordering Niger, Kaduna, Nasarawa, and Kogi states.
ThisDay
Nigeria on Wednesday made a high-level presentation to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) in London, United Kingdom, as part of efforts to advance its bid to host the 2030 centenary edition of the Commonwealth Games.
The Nigerian delegation, led by Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Shehu Dikko, and Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade, emphasised that the bid is an opportunity to foster a shared legacy that epitomises the Commonwealth spirit.
Nigeria presented an all-inclusive bid, with focus areas such as sports excellence, arts, international cultural exchange, tapping into a budding creative economy, building a new shared commonwealth legacy and shaping the future of the African youth.
The bid reflects the core values of Commonwealth Sport: More in Common, Equality, Humanity, and Destiny. The Abuja 2030 Games are designed to bring people together through the power of sport, reaching across gender, disability, culture, ethnicity, age, and background. They will celebrate what binds the Commonwealth together, fostering solidarity while opening pathways for more people to succeed in sport.
The bid also represents equality by offering Africa, for the first time in 100 years, the chance to host the Games. It reflects humanity by promising to transform lives and turn one million dreams into one million skills.
Also, it embodies destiny by positioning the Centennial Games in Nigeria as a defining moment that will shape the next century of the Commonwealth through youth, skills, and inclusive growth.
The delegation included the Bid Coordinator, Mallam Mainasara Ilo; the President of the Nigerian Olympic Committee, Engr. Habu Gumel, Minister of Arts and Culture, Hannatu Musawa, Presidential Spokesperson, Hon. Sunday Dare, former Olympian and 2-time Commonwealth gold medalist, Mary Onyali, and current world number one para-badminton player, Eniola Bolaji.
Nigeria’s Abuja 2030 bid is presented as an opportunity to shape the next century of the Commonwealth through humanity, equality, and shared destiny, ensuring that Africa’s youth are an important part of the future.
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday conferred national honours of the Commander of the Order of the Niger posthumously on four late Ogoni leaders.
They are Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage, and Samuel Orage, popularly remembered as the Ogoni Four.
Tinubu announced the conferment when he received the report of the Ogoni Consultations Committee at the State House, Abuja, on Wednesday.
He urged the people of Ogoniland to embrace reconciliation and unity after decades of division.
“May their memories continue to inspire unity, courage and purpose among us.
“I urge the Ogoni people across classes, communities and generations to close ranks, put this dark chapter behind us and move forward as a united community with one voice,” Tinubu said.
Wednesday’s meeting comes 16 months after the President, in May 2024, promised to “pursue diligently and honourably” the Ogoni cleanup and increase the number of its indigenes benefitting from its empowerment programmes.
Tinubu also pledged his commitment to unlocking the human and natural resource potential of Ogoniland while ensuring the environmental and economic security of Nigerian communities.
At the meeting, the President assured stakeholders that his administration would support the journey of Ogoniland towards peace, environmental remediation, and economic revival, while also facilitating the return of oil exploration to the area.
He stated, “I am encouraged by the overwhelming consensus of the Ogoni communities to welcome the resumption of oil production.
“The government will deploy every resource to support your people in this march towards shared prosperity.”
Tinubu cited developments in 2022 when the Buhari administration transferred the operations of the Ogoni oil field to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and its joint venture partners.
He argued that his government would honour and build on Buhari’s decision.
In his closing remarks, Tinubu called on the people to seize the moment, saying, “Let us together turn pain into purpose, conflict into cooperation, and transform the wealth beneath Ogoni soil into a blessing for the people and for Nigeria.”
Consequently, he directed the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to commence engagement between the Ogoni people, NNPCL, its partners, and all relevant stakeholders to finalise modalities for restarting operations.
“A dead asset is not valuable to the community, the country or the people.
“The longer we procrastinate, the worse it is for everyone,” the President said.
He also directed the Minister of Environment to integrate pollution remediation and environmental recovery into the broader framework of dialogue with the people.
The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who presented the report, said the consultations included all four Ogoni zones, with input from local communities, traditional leaders, and the diaspora.
Ribadu said, “In all aspects of our national life, Ogoni is one, thirty-something years of very unfortunate history rewrite the wrong now,
“To us was instruction, then we carry out this dialogue, community engagement, talking with the people and getting to understand how to move forward. It has succeeded like what you have seen today.
“He gave directives to all government agencies and institutions and also directly to our office that we must implement everything that have been agreed and we have taken it.”
Ribadu affirmed that his office, alongside all relevant agencies, is committed to restoring peace in Ogoniland.
“We will make sure that we follow his own directives and his instructions.
“We are going to make sure that peace is restored already, it is, and hopefully you will see the benefit of it not just in Ogoni land but the entire Niger Delta and by extension Nigeria,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Dialogue Committee, Prof. Don Baridam, noted that the committee ensured all stakeholders were carried along in the process, noting that the report reflects the collective will of the Ogoni people.
Baridam said the report captured the people’s demands for structured participation in oil production, renewed environmental cleanup, and a framework for sustainable development.
Oil was first commercially discovered in Oloibiri, Ogoniland, in 1958. However, exploration stopped in 1993 following sustained protests against environmental degradation and injustice.
The Ogoni Four refers to four traditional chiefs from the Ogoni community in Rivers State who were murdered on May 21, 1994, in the village of Giokoo.
The killings took place against the backdrop of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People campaign, led by writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, which had been mobilising the Ogoni against oil companies, particularly Shell, and the Nigerian state.
The subsequent struggles of Ogoni leaders to protect their environment from harmful oil exploration were met with severe repression, culminating in the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and nine other leaders by the Abacha regime in 1995.
The Punch
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Tinubu Holds Closed-door Meeting with Rivers Ex-administrator Ibas, EFCC Chair, Fin Minister
President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday evening, summoned the immediate past Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), to the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Ibas, who arrived at the State House at about 5:50 pm dressed in brown native attire, was accompanied to the meeting by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede.
Earlier, Edun had been sighted entering the villa briefly before leaving, only to return later carrying a file, underscoring the gravity of the engagement with the President.
Vice Admiral Ibas ceased to function as administrator of the oil-rich State on September 17, following the termination of the six-month emergency rule imposed in March.
President Tinubu had directed the reinstatement of the suspended governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly from the previous Thursday.
During its first sitting after the end of emergency rule, the Rivers State House of Assembly, presided over by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, resolved to investigate the management of State funds under Ibas’ tenure.
Lawmakers specifically resolved “to explore the process of knowing what transpired during the emergency rule about spending from the consolidated revenue fund for the award of contracts and other expenditures.”
Ibas, however, has publicly rejected the decision to probe the State’s expenditure during his six months in office.
Official records show that Rivers State received at least N254.37 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) between March and August 2025, covering the period Ibas served as sole administrator.
Details of the closed-door meeting were yet to be made public as of press time.
