Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has said that the controversy over the payment of ransom to secure the release of the abducted Kuriga students is not important.
The governor who made this known while speaking on Channel Television’s Sunday Politics, added that what was important was the fact that the government had been able to free the kidnapped students unhurt.
The Defence Headquarters, on Saturday, revealed that they had rescued the abducted school children who were whisked away from LEA Primary School and Government Secondary School, Kuriga, about four weeks ago.
Meanwhile, there were speculations that the government paid ransom to the kidnappers for the release of the schoolchildren, an insinuation railed against by Governor Sani.
“What is more important today is that our children are back home. Most of those permutations are not necessary. If your child is kidnapped, will you be sitting down and talking about how he was released?
“For me, what is more important is that those children are back home. Their parents are extremely happy and what is important to them is to reunite with their children.
“But some people who have no business with the situation are the ones coming out with some irresponsible permutations about whether ransom is being paid, whether someone had gone into the kinetic or non-kinetic approach. What is important to us in Kaduna is that the children are back home.” He added.
While emphasizing that the government handled the Kuriga schoolchildren abduction very discreetly, Sani added that concerted efforts were exerted to prevent putting the lives of the innocent children in danger.
He stated that some people at some point wanted to politicize the whole incident.
The governor noted that contrary to reports, 137 and not 287 schoolchildren were abducted on March 7, 2024, from Kuriga in the Chikun Local Government Area of the state.
He explained further: “I don’t want to join issues with anyone in terms of numbers. What is more important to me is the safe return of the children. Today, I am happy that they are back safely, in high spirits, but those numbers were just figments of some people’s imagination”.
