…Says we’ll make the abductors give up their arms
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) of Ondo State said on Sunday that his government did not pay a dime to the abductors of the Lagos school boys before securing their release.
The governor also said he would work to ensure that the abductors dropped their arms.
He also confirmed that he promised the kidnappers of inclusion in the Federal Government amnesty programme.
The governor spoke in an interview on an Ibadan-based radio, Fresh FM at the weekend.
Akeredolu explained that as soon as the Federal Government hinted him that the children were hidden somewhere in the creeks of Ondo State, he assigned his deputy, who hailed from a riverine area of the state, to find means of opening discussions with the abductors.
On successfully establishing contact with them after risking his life, the governor recalled that he joined in the discussion to know the motive of the abductors.
According to him, the militants complained that they were excluded in the amnesty programme launched for all militants in the Niger Delta.
Akeredolu said he promised them that he would intimate the Federal Government of the need to include them in the programme. He said the government did not pay ransom to secure their release.
The governor said he, however, made them realise the danger of criminality.
He said the militants expressed trust in his administration to right the wrongs of the past.
“My deputy did a yeoman’s job and started a discussion with the abductors. We made them realise that they may have their problem with the government but we told them that we will report that to the Federal Government. People repose a lot of trust in our government. They have implicit trust in us. The young boys (kidnappers) have trust in us. We promised them we would persuade the Federal Government to include them in the amnesty programme. We did not pay any ransom. We will work with the Federal Government to make them surrender their arms,” Akeredolu said.
Akeredolu also acknowledged that there is division in the All Progressives Congress (APC), pointing out that the party is so big that all members can not always agree. He stressed that it is part of the beauty of democracy.
He also denied working as one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s boys in Southwest, saying he is not a boy to anybody.