Kogi State Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has reaffirmed his administration’s stance against negotiating with kidnappers or paying ransom following the rescue of four people abducted from a purported NECO examination centre in Dekina Local Government Area.
Receiving the rescued victims at the Government House in Lokoja on Friday, the governor praised security agencies for the successful operation, insisting that criminals would not be allowed to operate freely in the state.
“I have said it before, and I want to reiterate that this administration will never negotiate with criminals or pay ransom. They may come into our state, but they will not return to where they came from,” Ododo said.
The governor also commended President Bola Tinubu for supporting security agencies in tackling insecurity and ordered a full investigation into why the NECO examination was held at an abandoned government secondary school that had previously been closed over security concerns.
Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Naziru Bello Kankarofi, confirmed that the victims—including the school principal, a NECO official and two female candidates—were rescued alive after sustained pressure from joint security operatives forced the kidnappers to abandon them.
Police further alleged that the abandoned school was being used as an unauthorized special examination centre for 10 candidates and may have served as a venue for examination malpractice. Investigations are ongoing to apprehend those behind the abduction.
