Ransom payments encourages kidnapping — Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said ransom payments would continue to foster kidnapping.

He said: “The time has come to reverse, completely, the grim and heartbreaking incidents of kidnapping”.

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Buhari, in a statement by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, urged the police and the military to go after kidnappers and bring them to justice.

He expressed “overwhelming joy” over the release of abducted schoolgirls of Zamfara State, saying “I join the families and people of Zamfara State in welcoming and celebrating the  release of these traumatized female students.”

Buhari, who said he was excited that their ordeal came to a happy end without any incident, noted that “being held in captivity is an agonizing experience not only for the victims, but also their families and all of us.”

He called for greater vigilance by the people so that human intelligence could be collected early enough to nip the bandits’ plans in the bud, while celebrating the release of the students.