The Northern Elders for Peace and Development has backed president Buhari advice against paying ransom to bandit say, it is the major factor that is luring criminals into the illegal venture. The elders have called on northern governors to henceforth desist from paying ransom or negotiating with criminals. The statement was made known by the forum’s National Coordinator, Engr. Zanna Goni, statingthat they kicked against negotiating with terrorist.
The group argued that paying ransom to bandits and negotiating with terrorist has been a major fuel that has been keeping the criminal activity a lucrative business to those who engages in it.
According to them, the funds which are used in paying the criminals and the bandits would have been enough to procure equipments that would fight the criminals to a standstill. Therefore, they appealed to the northern governors to desist from such a futile venture of pampering the criminal while relating their victims, this is in line with Mr President's idea of discouraging the bandits from committing the atrocities.
The statement partly reads, “We advise that they should use the money for the supposed amnesty programme, ransom and negotiations to acquire state-of-the-art technology with a view to ending insecurity on our land once and for all.”
