PDP Condemns Tinubu's Government Over Alleged Ransom Payment, ‘Shameful Encouragement Of Criminality’

 

According to the PDP, the reports followed “the visit and engagement of the United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Jonathan Burke, with top Nigerian security and finance officials in a bid to disrupt illicit financial flows linked to extremist groups.”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the President Bola Tinubu-led government of encouraging criminality through alleged ransom payments to kidnappers, describing the development as “a shameful encouragement for criminality.”

In a press statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the opposition party said recent media reports confirming the “widely speculated payment of ransom by the Federal Government to secure the release of kidnapped victims in Niger, Kebbi, Kwara, etc., are deeply troubling.”

According to the PDP, the reports followed “the visit and engagement of the United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Jonathan Burke, with top Nigerian security and finance officials in a bid to disrupt illicit financial flows linked to extremist groups.”

This development follows an investigative report by global news agency AFP which alleged that the administration of President Bola Tinubu paid billions of naira to terrorists to facilitate the release of nearly 230 pupils and staff abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic boarding school in Papiri, Niger State, in November. 

AFP had cited intelligence sources who claimed the government paid between N2billion and N10billion after negotiations allegedly led by the Office of the National Security Adviser.

The report further alleged that two Boko Haram commanders were released as part of the agreement, despite Nigerian laws criminalising ransom payments to kidnappers and terrorist groups.

According to the report, the funds were allegedly transported by helicopter to Gwoza in Borno State, a known Boko Haram enclave near the Cameroon border.

The party stated that the revelation was “not only shameful and unfortunate, but also a sad confirmation” of findings by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). It referenced the NBS Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey 2024, which it said “declared that ransom payment has reached a staggering trillion-naira economy (N2.3 trillion paid in ransom between May 2023 and April 2024), and that 2,235,954 people have been kidnapped under the watch of the Bola Tinubu-led APC Federal Government.”

The PDP argued that when the alleged ransom payments are “juxtaposed with the delayed and partial release of budgetary security funds and the ad hoc approach to security under this administration, it is clear why stories of superior weaponry in the possession of criminal non-state actors have persisted and why the war against terrorism has remained unwon.”

The opposition party maintained that “it is standard practice globally, that governments do not pay ransom, because such payments are counterproductive,” adding that “rather than assuaging criminals, ransom payments fuel their operations and make tackling them even harder.”

It noted that “under the present administration, several persons have publicly alleged that the Federal and State Governments have been negotiating with different criminal groups and paying ransom, an allegation which the Federal Government has repeatedly denied.”

Describing the situation as contradictory, the PDP said, “It is the height of hypocrisy that a government that enacted the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 which criminalised paying ransom is itself accused of paying millions of dollars in ransom from the public treasury.”

The party further claimed that under the Tinubu/APC government, Nigeria has earned “infamous positions on major global crime and violence tracking reports.” It listed the rankings as follows: “11th most dangerous country to visit in the world (Numbeo Index 2025); 147th least peaceful country out of 163 countries (Global Peace Index 2025); 142nd out of 143 countries on the rule of law matrix (World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2025); 6th most affected country in the world by terrorism (Global Terrorism Index 2025); 8th country in the world with the highest level of organised crime, with a criminality score of 7.32 out of 10 (Organized Crime Index 2025).”

The PDP concluded that “it has become obvious that this administration is grossly incapable and incompetent in effectively fighting insecurity and is instead normalising insecurity to the detriment of Nigerians.”

To address the situation, the party suggested that “the Federal Government should direct the immediate stoppage of payment of ransoms by governments and individuals, by fully implementing the provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.” It also called on authorities to “aggressively track illicit financial flows to criminal organisations and task the Multi-Agency Kidnap Fusion Cell established in December 2024, to deliver on its mandate by curbing kidnapping to an infinitesimal level.”

The PDP urged the Federal Government to “honestly clear the air on the allegations that a ‘huge ransom, running into millions of dollars,’ has been paid at different times to kidnappers to secure the release of kidnap victims, especially those of St. Mary’s School in Niger State.”

“Furthermore, we task the Federal Government to immediately take strategic, not performative steps to sustainably solve the issue of insecurity in the country,” the statement added.

It concluded: “Nigerians deserve a government that matches its legislative ambitions with operational commitment-sadly, this administration has failed elegantly in both.”