Wednesday, December 3, 2025 - President Bola Tinubu’s Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, says the Federal Government under Tinubu maintains a strict position against holding negotiations with terrorist groups. Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Bwala said Nigeria’s security challenges are complex enough to push any administration toward difficult and sometimes unconventional decisions, but insisted that Tinubu has adopted a zero-tolerance approach.
“There was a time the federal government was negotiating
(with terrorists), and I think that el-Rufai (the former Kaduna governor) once
talked about a national policy at that time, when they said both states and the
federal government can be in a situation where they will have to negotiate,” he
said. “Because if your duty is to preserve the life of people, and citizens of
Nigeria are in danger, and negotiation is the only way to save them, and you
have to save them, then you have to do all that you need to do to save them at
that time.”
Bwala explained that Tinubu rejected that approach after
taking office because of the potential consequences. “But President Tinubu came
with these zero tolerances on negotiation because it didn’t fit into this
terrorism financing. You see, you are constructively financing terrorism
without knowing it,” he said. “So instead of elements who are sponsoring them
by giving them the money as ransom to collect the people, they also use the
ransom money to buy more weapons. So the federal government does not tolerate
the idea of negotiation.”
Asked how the recent release of kidnapped schoolchildren was
achieved without ransom payments, Bwala said several factors can shape how such
situations unfold. He said some individuals present themselves as negotiators
and not every interaction with armed groups is money-driven. According to him,
captors may also release hostages when holding them becomes too risky or
difficult to manage. He added that influential figures—including religious
leaders—sometimes intervene and convince abductors to free victims.
Bwala also noted that security agencies may know the
criminals’ location but be unable to carry out an attack because civilians are
present, forcing authorities to apply indirect pressure. “In other instances,”
he said, “there are also occasions when the groups simply choose to release
people on their own.”
He acknowledged that outside the Federal Government’s
position, ransom payments still occur. “I also have to admit that sometimes
families of individuals that are kidnapped end up paying the ransom or the
state government ends up paying the ransom,” he said. “All of these things are
possible for the release of the people but you asked the question whether the
Federal Government did pay ransom and I told you no, whether the Federal
Government will pay ransom and I am saying no.”
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