Jaafar Jaafar claimed the Nigerian govt must have paid through the nose to secure the release of the abducted Kaduna pupils
By Kehinde Okeowo
Popular Nigerian journalist, Jaafar Jaafar, has knocked claims by the Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani and the Nigerian military that the abducted Kaduna pupils were rescued.
According to him, the Nigerian government must have paid through the nose to secure the release of the students who were kidnapped on March 7 by suspected bandits in Kaduna.
He made this known via a post on his X handle on Sunday, claiming no lobbying, persuasion, flattery, charm or conning will convince the ruthlessly avaricious bandits to release hostages without payment of ransom.
TheNiche had earlier reported that Gov Uba Sani announced the release of the over 100 Kuriga schoolchildren on Saturday night.
Although the abductors demanded N1 billion as ransom as the only condition for their release, the Defence headquarters claimed the abducted
students were rescued through coordinated rescue operation with local authorities and other agencies.
However, reacting to the claims, Jaafar said President Bola Tinubu and Governor Uba Sani’s choice of words after the “rescue” of the students, suggested that the government paid through the nose.
ALSO READ: Defence HQ confirms it rescued 137 kidnapped Kaduna students in Zamfara
He further alleged that he Nigerian Government is more concerned about its image than the security of lives and property.
Speaking via his social media page, he tweeted: “The reality is that no lobbying, persuasion, flattery, charm or conning will convince the ruthlessly avaricious bandits to release hostages without payment of ransom.
“From President Tinubu to Governor Uba Sani’s choice of words after the ‘rescue’ of the Kuriga schoolchildren, you know the government paid through the nose to simply rescue its image, held hostage by the worsening insecurity.
“Our leaders hardly bother taking proactive measures to stop these abductions. In hindsight, the money the government paid the bandits should have been used to resettle villages that were prone to attack.
“Government is more concerned about its image than the security of lives and property. Whenever you see a government in turbo action, its political image is concerned.”
