Buhari says he ‘will not succumb to blackmail’ after mass kidnapping

 

Nigeria’s President Muhamadu Buhari on Friday condemned the kidnapping of more than 300 schoolgirls in the country’s northwest, saying his government would not bow to blackmail.

“This administration will not succumb to blackmail by bandits who target innocent school students in the expectations of huge ransom payments,” Buhari said in a statement.

Buhari further raised concerns that although authorities could deploy “massive force against the bandits”, there were fears that the schoolgirls could be used as human shields.

This is the second such kidnapping in a little more than a week in Nigeria’s north, which has seen a surge in activity by armed groups leading to a widespread and worsening breakdown of security.

President Buhari issued a stern warning, saying bandits, kidnappers and terrorists should not “entertain any illusions that they are more powerful than the government.”

“They shouldn’t mistake our restraint for the humanitarian goals of protecting innocent lives as a weakness or a sign of fear or irresolution,” the President said on Twitter.