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 this zero tolerance 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.