Zamfara Governor Stands Firm: Refuses N300m Ransom for Kidnapped Brothers
Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State reveals he rejected a N300 million ransom demand for his kidnapped brothers, citing a principled stand against emboldening criminal elements through negotiations.
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Abuja, Nigeria — In a rare display of resolve against the escalating tide of kidnapping in northern Nigeria, Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has disclosed that he refused to pay a N300 million ransom demanded by kidnappers who abducted his brothers in 2019. Speaking at the ARISE News/THISDAY Town Hall Conference in Abuja, Lawal described his decision as a moral and strategic stand against the growing culture of ransom-fueled crime.
The governor’s brothers were seized in 2019, during one of the worst surges in abductions for ransom in the region. At the time, the perpetrators demanded N300 million for their release. Lawal, however, refused to negotiate. “I told them to kill my brothers if they wished,” he revealed, underscoring the depth of his conviction. “Negotiating with criminals only fuels the growing menace of kidnapping for ransom.”
His statement, reported by Daily Trust and The Whistler, has reignited debate over state responses to banditry and abduction in Nigeria’s northwest. Zamfara, long plagued by armed gangs operating in its forested terrain, has seen repeated waves of mass abductions, village raids, and extortion. While many families and public figures have quietly paid ransoms to secure the release of loved ones, Lawal’s public rejection of such payments stands in stark contrast.
At the town hall event, Lawal framed his decision not merely as personal fortitude but as a policy stance. “If we continue to pay,” he said, “we are financing the very networks that terrorize our people.” His remarks align with broader calls for systemic security reform, though they also highlight the agonizing personal cost borne by those in leadership. The fate of his brothers following the refusal was not detailed in the reports, but their eventual release is implied by the governor’s current public role.
By invoking his own experience, Lawal has placed a human face on a national crisis. His story is not just one of individual courage, but of the fraught choices facing Nigerian leaders in an era where criminality has become industrialized. In standing firm, he challenges both public and private actors to reconsider the long-term consequences of yielding to ransom demands.