Presidential Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, says the administration of President Bola Tinubu maintains a strict policy against negotiating with bandits or any terrorist organisation.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday, Bwala said past administrations occasionally resorted to dialogue with violent groups due to the complexity of Nigeria’s security landscape.
However, he stressed that Tinubu’s government has adopted a zero-tolerance approach.
“There was a time the federal government was negotiating with terrorists,” Bwala said, recalling comments credited to former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, about a previous national policy that allowed both federal and state authorities to negotiate in extreme circumstances.
According to him, earlier governments sometimes embraced dialogue because protecting citizens’ lives is the state’s primary duty.
“If citizens are in danger and negotiation is the only option to save them, then you have to do what is necessary at that moment,” he explained.
Bwala, however, said President Tinubu’s approach differs sharply.
“President Tinubu came with this zero tolerance on negotiation because it didn’t fit into terrorism financing,” he stated.
He warned that ransom payments invariably strengthen criminal groups. “You are constructively financing terrorism without knowing it,” Bwala noted.
“Instead of the elements who are sponsoring them, the ransom money ends up being used to buy more weapons.”
He added that for this reason, the Federal Government “does not tolerate the idea of negotiation” with those behind kidnapping and violent extremism.
Bwala said the administration remains committed to decisive security actions while working to ensure that Nigerians are protected without empowering criminal networks.
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