<\/p>\n
Senator Ali Ndume has declared that no ransom will be paid to Boko Haram insurgents, as the group\u2019s 72-hour ultimatum over abducted villagers in Borno State runs out. <\/p>\n
The lawmaker insisted that the Federal Government must not give in to pressure, despite growing fears over the fate of the victims.<\/p>\n
The abduction, which happened in Muoshi village in early March, has left hundreds of families in distress. Initial reports suggested that over 500 people were taken. <\/p>\n
However, the figure was later confirmed to be 416 victims, many of them women and children.<\/p>\n
Speaking during an interview, Ndume described the incident as deeply troubling. He said the victims are his constituents and people he knows personally.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was unbelievable, shocking, but it is true. These are my people, from my local government, and it\u2019s devastating for the community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that the affected village is not far from a major route, noting that it is about 12 kilometres from the Maiduguri-Mubi road. This, according to him, raises serious concerns about security presence in the area.<\/p>\n
Tension increased after Boko Haram released a video message, issuing a 72-hour ultimatum. The group threatened to relocate the captives if their demands were not met.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf our demands are not met, we will move these victims, including women and children, to different locations\u2026 you may never see them again,\u201d the insurgents warned.<\/p>\n
Ndume reacted with concern but urged calm. He stressed that the victims are innocent civilians caught in a dangerous situation.<\/p>\n
He also addressed claims circulating online about targeted killings. According to him, the victims include both Christians and Muslims, with a large number being Muslims.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe captives are innocent civilians, both Christians and Muslims,\u201d he said. \u201cThe abductions show there is no such thing as \u2018Christian genocide\u2019 in my area. Boko Haram abducted everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the issue of ransom, the senator maintained a firm position. He said paying money to terrorists would only worsen the situation and encourage more attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI stand with the government on this: we will not pay ransom,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
Despite this stance, Ndume assured that efforts are ongoing to secure the release of the abducted victims. He said he has been in contact with security agencies and key authorities handling the situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve talked to various security agencies and those that matter, and they are working on it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The senator, however, warned against public discussions that could interfere with security operations. He noted that insurgents often have access to sensitive information.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think this conversation should extend to this level, because as I said, it\u2019s a security matter. The terrorists or the insurgents even have more information than you think,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
He urged the government to act within the law while doing everything possible to rescue the victims.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bottom line is that government should do whatever it can legitimately, without compromising legalities, sovereignty, or the authority of the Nigerian government, to get these people out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ndume also revealed that efforts are being made through intermediaries to engage the insurgents. He said the ultimatum should not be treated as final, noting that dialogue channels remain open.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have communicated through the person going in between to say, \u2018Look, you just don\u2019t say 72 hours; do this and do that.\u2019 We are appealing because the threat serves no purpose,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n
The situation in Borno remains tense as families await updates on the fate of their loved ones.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Senator Ali Ndume has declared that no ransom will be paid to Boko Haram insurgents, as the group\u2019s 72-hour ultimatum over abducted villagers in Borno State runs out. The lawmaker insisted that the Federal Government must not give in to pressure, despite growing fears over the fate of the victims. The abduction, which happened in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":242470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MixCollage-22-Apr-2026-09-29-AM-6257.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}