The Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has denied allegations that he received ransom money or acted as an intermediary between kidnappers and the government, declaring that he has never seen N1bn in cash in his life.
Ndume made the remarks on Friday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
The senator was responding to allegations by the President of the Borno South Youth Alliance, Samaila Kaigama, linking him to ransom negotiations involving abducted residents of Ngoshe in Borno State.
“I have said it already. In my life, I have never seen N1billion cash, not to talk of N5billion,” he said.The lawmaker reiterated that he had no role in negotiating with terrorists or facilitating ransom payments, maintaining that his only action was to alert security agencies after Kaigama informed him about a video purportedly released by Boko Haram/ISWAP demanding a N5bn ransom.
“After Kaigame came to make those claims on the television, I quickly spoke with the National Security Adviser and the Department of State Services, DSS, on thematter.
“I told them that there is need to bring us and hear him out as he said he wants to be heard, so that he will have the opportunity to prove all these his allegations.
And the government should take this matter very seriously because it borders on national security. It’s very dangerous. This has to do with international security because ISWAP and all these terrorist organisations are involved,” he said.
Ndume said his disagreement with Kaigama began after he rejected any suggestion of negotiating with insurgents or paying ransom.
“So after he started bothering me about personal contribution to ransom payment,I told him that I do not support negotiation with Boko Haram, not to talk of paying ransom. I think that’s where the problem started.
“He started issuing out all these uncoordinated and contradictory statements about my involvement and the likes,” he added.
The senator had earlier denied theallegations during an interview on ARISE NEWS, insisting he had never acted, directly or indirectly, as an intermediary between kidnappers and the government or private individuals.
According to him, Kaigama contacted him after insurgents allegedly abducted hundreds of residents of Ngoshe and issued a 72-hour ultimatum demanding a N5bn ransom.
He also urged security agencies to investigate the allegations, describing the matter as one of national security rather than a personal dispute.
Cc: Punch