President Bola Tinubu says the Federal Government refused to pay ransom or release detained members of a criminal group before 44 pupils and teachers abducted from schools in Oyo State regained their freedom.

ABUJA, Nigeria — President Bola Tinubu has disclosed that the abductors of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State demanded money and the release of detained members of their gang as conditions for freeing the victims.

Tinubu said the Federal Government rejected both demands and instead relied on sustained intelligence and security operations to pressure the kidnappers into releasing the captives.

The president spoke on Thursday, July 30, while receiving a delegation of traditional rulers from Oyo State at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The delegation was led by the Olubadan of Ibadanland and Chairman of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, Oba Rashidi Ladoja.

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Tinubu said the kidnappers sought ransom and demanded that some suspected members of their network already being held by security agencies be released.

According to the president, the government rejected the proposed exchange because negotiating with criminal groups or paying ransom could strengthen kidnapping networks and encourage further attacks.

“We refuse to negotiate for ransom,” Tinubu said, explaining that the government also turned down the request to free detained members of the kidnappers’ gang.

The president did not disclose the amount allegedly demanded by the abductors. No independently verified figure for the ransom demand was available at the time of publication.

Tinubu maintained that the government was prepared to continue military operations against the kidnappers, whom he accused of committing murder during the attack and captivity of the victims.

He also claimed that some members of the criminal network were foreign nationals, linking Nigeria’s worsening security situation partly to instability in neighbouring West African countries, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic.