Kidnappers Are Cowardly, Only Look For Soft Targets – President Tinubu

President Tinubu has asserted that kidnappers are cowardly without the courage to go stronger oppositions.

Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said that the Kidnappers terrorizing the country are weak and lacks the courage to challenge the strong oppositions.

VerseNews reports that President Tinubu while addressing members of the Federal judiciary at a Ramadan dinner, on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, said that individuals involved in such despicable crimes must be treated as terrorists.

He emphasized the cowardice of kidnappers and reaffirmed the government’s determination to combat banditry and terrorism with full force.

President Tinubu made this declaration at a Ramadan dinner with members of the Federal judiciary led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.

Others in attendance are the serving and retired judicial officers, including two former CJNs, Justice Mahmud Mohammed and Justice Walter Onnoghen.

“We must treat kidnappers as terrorists,” the President said, according to a statement by his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale.

“They are cowardly. They have been degraded. They look for soft targets. They go to schools and kidnap children and cause disaffection. We must treat them equally as terrorists in order to get rid of them, and I promise you we will get rid of them.”

This Online News Media understands that the declaration comes as a resolute response to the escalating security challenges faced by Nigeria, particularly in the North-West and North-East regions.

These areas have witnessed a surge in insurgent and bandit attacks, leading to widespread fear and suffering among residents. With terrorists targeting vulnerable groups, including schoolchildren.

President Tinubu insist that ‘kidnappers are cowardly’ no ‘payment of ransom’

President Tinubu government has maintained that it won’t negotiate with bandits, even as the marauders continue to make kidnapping-for-ransom an enterprise, abducting hundreds of schoolchildren and residents, with the most recent mass abduction being that of 137 schoolchildren from Kuriga in Kaduna State.

VerseNews recalls that several pupils and staff members of Apostolic Faith School in Ekiti State were abducted on January 29, 2024, from their school bus while en route to Emure-Ekiti, intercepted by assailants at Eporo-Ekiti. Although they were released about a week later, tragically, the bus driver was found dead.

The incident adds to a series of mass kidnappings of schoolchildren across Nigeria, spanning from Chibok to Dapchi, Kankara, Kagara, and numerous others in Kaduna, Katsina, and Niger states. These heinous acts, perpetrated by terrorists, have sparked global outrage, with some students eventually regaining freedom while others remain in perpetual captivity, subjected to the horrors of their abductors and sexual abusers.

President Tinubu pledged that his administration would continue implementing necessary reforms to enhance the welfare and working conditions of judicial officers during the review of salaries.

“I recognise that the judiciary has one of the most unrewarded responsibilities. They are yet to modernize equipment and recordkeeping, and their progress towards improvement is slow.”

”When you look at the career path of a judicial officer, they cannot practice the vocation for which they were trained after retirement.”

”While the framers of the law may have their reasons, I perceive this differently and see this from a fair compensation angle that should benefit all,” the President stated.

President Tinubu expressed gratitude to the judiciary for their dedicated service to the nation and acknowledged their crucial role in upholding the respectability of the judicial arm of government.

“We will continue to support one another and bring Nigeria to that glorious dawn,” the President concluded, whereas the Chief Justice of Nigeria commended him for the honor of hosting judicial officials.