Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has said, kidnappers, abductors and all forms of criminals should be dealt with, rather than negotiating with them in any way.
Speaking through his Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo at a Senate Press Corps retreat in Lokoja on Saturday, Bello said it’s an aberration negotiating with criminals, having committed unimaginable crimes against the society.
He revealed that insecurity in Kogi State was at its peak before he took over governance in 2016, with a record of 25 cases of kidnappings per month.
He insisted that negotiating with kidnappers or criminals in any way gives credence to continuity in the act, adding that dealing with criminals in proportion to crimes committed had worked in Kogi State, hence, cases of kidnappings have reduced in the State.
He stated: “I can’t negotiate with kidnappers. I can’t negotiate with terrorists, but I deal with them.
“I believe that negotiating with criminals under any guise would not stop the act and I want the government at all levels to look at dealing ruthlessly with kidnappers and other criminals, if insecurity must be brought to the barest minimum. ”
The governor urged criminals to excuse Kogi State from their sphere of operation, stressing that any criminal caught in the act within Kogi State would not be spared.
