Surrendering To Criminals Not An Option — El-rufai Insists

Amidst the violence unleashed by criminal elements on the people
of Kaduna State, some commentators have responded by blaming KDSG
for asserting that the duty of the state is to uphold the law and
not to reward hoodlums for violating the lives, property and
liberties of citizens.

Those pushing that kind of narrative, according to a 27 April
2021 statement signed by Muyiwa Adekeye, Special Adviser to the
Governor (Media and Communication), are sharing a video clip of a
2014 interview in which Malam Nasir El-Rufai called on the
government of President Goodluck Jonathan to use all options,
including negotiation, to rescue the Chibok girls. “The years since
2014 may have led some people to forget the denial and doubt that
defined the FG’s response to the Chibok abductions, especially the
initial refusal to acknowledge that it happened. That was the
context under which civic pressures were brought on the
government.”

Nigeria’s journey since the 2014 Chibok tragedy has, as argued
by the state government, proven that the solution to violent
crimes, including terrorism and banditry, is a robust response from
the state and its coercive agencies. The quantum of money paid as
ransom following many negotiations with bandits have not stopped
kidnappings, reduced their frequency or deterred the criminals.

KDSG argued further: “The experience of many states in the
Northwest of Nigeria since 2015 has included cattle rustling,
kidnappings, killings and the devastation of communities by
criminals. Several states sought to negotiate their way out of the
problems by talking to bandits, paying them money or offering them
amnesty. This has not worked and has only encouraged the criminals
to press ahead for a surrender of the public treasury to them. That
is clearly not in the public interest.

Mass abduction was like in novelty in 2014. But the facts have
changed since then. Negotiations and ransoms have been undertaken,
but these have not stopped the criminals. It has only encouraged
them. It is only prudent to review one’s position when the facts
change, and the suggestion made by a citizen years ago cannot be
taken as the immutable answer to a serious problem which has
evolved since 2014, no matter the viral replays of the said video
clip.

The Kaduna State Government has been consistently transparent
about its security challenges. It has supported and continues to
resource the security agencies in the state. We are engaging the
Federal Government to have security responses that move away from
reactive response of repelling bandits towards a comprehensive,
proactive offensive that takes the battle to the criminals and
uproots them. As a sub-national, with no direct control of any of
the security agencies, we cannot make this task more difficult by
giving criminals the resources to acquire more arms.

KDSG regrets the recent kidnaps and killings of students from
tertiary institutions in our state, and we sympathize with their
families with whom we share the aim of the safe return of all the
students. We mourn the dead students and we offer our condolences
to the family and friends of the deceased.The ruthless and
heartless resort of the kidnappers to murdering these young persons
is part of their effort to further their blackmail and compel us to
abandon our ‘no-ransom, no-negotiation’ policy. Are people
bothering with the consequences of state surrender to hoodlums, or
is the continued politicization of security challenges not going to
make all of us ultimately victims of the insurgents?

The fact that criminals seek to hold us by the jugular does not
mean we should surrender and create an incentive for more crime.In
today’s Nigeria, it has become fashionable to treat the unlawful
demands of bandits as worthy of consideration and to lampoon people
who insist that outlaws should be crushed and not mollycoddled or
availed the resources they can use to unleash further
outrages.”

Amidst the violence unleashed by criminal elements on the people
of Kaduna State, some commentators have responded by blaming KDSG
for asserting that the duty of the state is to uphold the law and
not to reward hoodlums for violating the lives, property and
liberties of citizens.

Those pushing that kind of narrative, according to a 27 April
2021 statement signed by Muyiwa Adekeye, Special Adviser to the
Governor (Media and Communication), are sharing a video clip of a
2014 interview in which Malam Nasir El-Rufai called on the
government of President Goodluck Jonathan to use all options,
including negotiation, to rescue the Chibok girls. “The years since
2014 may have led some people to forget the denial and doubt that
defined the FG’s response to the Chibok abductions, especially the
initial refusal to acknowledge that it happened. That was the
context under which civic pressures were brought on the
government.”

Nigeria’s journey since the 2014 Chibok tragedy has, as argued
by the state government, proven that the solution to violent
crimes, including terrorism and banditry, is a robust response from
the state and its coercive agencies. The quantum of money paid as
ransom following many negotiations with bandits have not stopped
kidnappings, reduced their frequency or deterred the criminals.

KDSG argued further: “The experience of many states in the
Northwest of Nigeria since 2015 has included cattle rustling,
kidnappings, killings and the devastation of communities by
criminals. Several states sought to negotiate their way out of the
problems by talking to bandits, paying them money or offering them
amnesty. This has not worked and has only encouraged the criminals
to press ahead for a surrender of the public treasury to them. That
is clearly not in the public interest.

Mass abduction was like in novelty in 2014. But the facts have
changed since then. Negotiations and ransoms have been undertaken,
but these have not stopped the criminals. It has only encouraged
them. It is only prudent to review one’s position when the facts
change, and the suggestion made by a citizen years ago cannot be
taken as the immutable answer to a serious problem which has
evolved since 2014, no matter the viral replays of the said video
clip.

The Kaduna State Government has been consistently transparent
about its security challenges. It has supported and continues to
resource the security agencies in the state. We are engaging the
Federal Government to have security responses that move away from
reactive response of repelling bandits towards a comprehensive,
proactive offensive that takes the battle to the criminals and
uproots them. As a sub-national, with no direct control of any of
the security agencies, we cannot make this task more difficult by
giving criminals the resources to acquire more arms.

KDSG regrets the recent kidnaps and killings of students from
tertiary institutions in our state, and we sympathize with their
families with whom we share the aim of the safe return of all the
students. We mourn the dead students and we offer our condolences
to the family and friends of the deceased.The ruthless and
heartless resort of the kidnappers to murdering these young persons
is part of their effort to further their blackmail and compel us to
abandon our ‘no-ransom, no-negotiation’ policy. Are people
bothering with the consequences of state surrender to hoodlums, or
is the continued politicization of security challenges not going to
make all of us ultimately victims of the insurgents?

The fact that criminals seek to hold us by the jugular does not
mean we should surrender and create an incentive for more crime.In
today’s Nigeria, it has become fashionable to treat the unlawful
demands of bandits as worthy of consideration and to lampoon people
who insist that outlaws should be crushed and not mollycoddled or
availed the resources they can use to unleash further
outrages.”