 President Bola Tinibu has vowed not to pay ransom to kidnappers of course of students and other people in parts of Nigeria, and officials have said. Information Minister Mohammed Idris, who stated this in Abuja while addressing journalists on Wednesday, said the president also directed security agencies to ensure the release of all kidnapped victims without the payment of ransom. The minister's comments follow the mass kidnappings that have occurred in some states in Nigeria. In Kaduna, not West Nigeria, over 200 students were kidnapped last week by yet to be identified bandits. The Kaduna kidnap occurred a few days after about 400 people were kidnapped by Boko Haramin surgeons in Borno. It's true that some of these are happening. We have seen what has happened in Kaduna, in Meduguri, in Borno, rather, and then in Sokoto. Mr. President has said that this is an unacceptable situation. The government will not condone abductions or kidnappings or any kind of criminality in that direction. We are seeing, of course, this happen, and the government is taking very proactive steps first to mitigate that and also to stop the spread of this apparent, you know. We are seeing some kind of movement by the more the security agencies are also hitting these targets, the targets of criminals, the more they are pushed to also getting some soft targets. But government is not taking any excuses. The President has directed that security agencies, most as a matter of urgency, ensure that these children and all those who have been kidnapped are brought back to safety and also in the process to ensure that not a dime is paid for ransom. So it's important to underscore that. No dime, government is not paying anybody any dime, and the government is optimistic that these children and other people that are abducted will be brought back to their families in safety.