After secretly withdrawing son from public school, El-Rufai vows not to pay ransom if bandits kidnap him

Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has said he will never pay ransom to bandits even if they kidnap his son.

The governor said this in a radio chat on Friday in Kaduna to underscore his government’s policy of not negotiating with bandits.

Mr El-Rufai has consistently said government should only apply force in dealing with bandits and other violent criminals. Reiterating the stand on Thursday by stressing that bandits do not deserve to live.

“I mean it and I will say it again here. Even if my son is kidnapped, I will rather pray for him to make heaven instead, because I won’t pay any ransom.”

Asked what his government was doing to secure the release of the students kidnapped at the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Kaduna, in March, the governor said the government would keep exploring other ways to get them back to their families but stressed that the government is “absolutely not paying ransom.”

He said the state government will keep exploring those other means until the students are released.

The statement comes after the governor had secretly withdrew Abubakar El-Rufai, hid seven-year-old son from Kaduna Capital School.

Reports revealed that the youngster who was enrolled in 2019 has been absent from school for several weeks till now.