The Kogi State Government has once again publicly reaffirmed its zero-tolerance stance against criminality, categorically ruling out any possibility of negotiating with or paying ransoms to bandits and kidnappers operating within the state.
This renewed public commitment, initially stated days ago, follows a sustained surge in kidnapping activities in parts of the state and serves as a direct message to criminal syndicates that their demands will not be met by the state coffers.
The Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo, reiterated the government’s position, stressing that the administration believes engaging in negotiations only emboldens criminals.
“This administration has a clear and unwavering policy: we will not negotiate with bandits, and we will not pay ransom,” Fanwo stated in a press briefing today.
Instead of negotiation, the government remains committed to funding and equipping joint security task forces (including the Nigerian Army, Police, and local vigilantes) to conduct aggressive kinetic operations to hunt down and neutralize criminal elements in their hideouts.
The state’s commitment is reportedly backed by a comprehensive anti-kidnapping law that imposes severe penalties on criminals and their informants.
The policy reaffirmation comes amidst a volatile security situation that has included high-profile attacks. The policy was reinforced following the drone-assisted attack on a church in the Ejiba community in Yagba West LGA over the weekend, where a pastor and several worshippers were abducted. The government has focused its response on search and rescue operations rather than opening a negotiation channel.
The latest update shows an increased deployment of the state’s security apparatus, ‘Operation Total Freedom’, into the forests bordering Ekiti and Ondo states, which serve as known operational corridors for bandits.
Kogi State’s non-negotiation policy is a high-risk strategy that draws a hard line against criminality, contrasting with the often-flexible approaches taken by some other states in the region.
The primary benefit is the long-term potential to discourage kidnapping by removing the profit motive. If criminals know they will not be paid, they may eventually relocate their operations.
The immediate risk is the increased danger to victims and their families. The failure to negotiate may prolong captivity and put the lives of those abducted in greater jeopardy, shifting the entire financial and psychological burden onto the victims’ relatives.
For the policy to be truly effective, it requires strict enforcement and coordination with all neighboring states. If bandits simply move their victims across state lines to negotiate with other governments, the policy’s impact is severely limited.
The Kogi State government is gambling that a clear, public policy of force will ultimately secure its territory, but the immediate safety of current kidnap victims remains the critical yardstick by which the policy will be measured.
