Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu, says the federal government will not negotiate with terrorists anymore.
Speaking on Channels Television on Wednesday, Bwala said past governments sometimes negotiated with bandits only when people’s lives were in immediate danger.
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He mentioned former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai, who once said there was a national policy that allowed negotiations to save lives.
Bwala said this is no longer the case.
“The federal government did not negotiate and will not negotiate,” he said.
He explained that President Tinubu ended the practice because ransom payments and deals often end up supporting terrorist activities.
“You are indirectly financing terrorism without knowing,” he added.
Bwala also said not all releases of kidnapped victims involve money. Sometimes clerics intervene, security forces pressure the criminals, or the kidnappers release victims on their own.
He dismissed claims that Tinubu is under pressure to resign.
“No one in government is asking the president to resign,” he said.