Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai said that paying money to bandits, who kidnapped students and others, has not solved the problem of insecurity and kidnapping in Nigaria.

He went on to say that his government was planning to attack and kill the kidnappers of the 29 students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna State who were released on Wednesday.

El-Rufai speaking on Thursday to the Africa Leadership Group in a webinar said that if any of the students had been killed in the planned attack on bandits and kidnappers such would have been considered as collateral damage.

El-Rufai said that he was assured by the air force and the army that they knew where the kidnappers were keeping the students and had been encircled

‘Two days after the abduction of the Afaka young people, I was assured by the air force and the army that they knew where the kidnappers were with the students and they had encircled [them],” the governor said.

We shall keep our schools open, El-Rufai dares bandits

‘We were going to attack them. We would lose a few students but we would kill all the bandits and we would recover some of the students.

‘That was our plan. That was the plan of the air force and the army… But they slipped through the cordon of the army. That is why they were not attacked.

‘We know it is risky, we know in the process we may lose some of the abductees but it is a price we have to pay.

‘This is war, there will always be collateral damage in war and we will rather do that than pay money because paying money has not solved the problem anywhere in the world’