Dear Mr. President, the problem is ransom payment and negotiating with terrorists, not the media

by Mohammed Bello Doka 

19 June, 2026.

On June 12, 2026, terrorists descended on a farming community in Borno State, burning homes and shooting indiscriminately for over four hours, leaving 47 men, women, and children dead. On June 14, armed bandits blocked the Kaduna-Abuja highway and abducted 23 travellers. On June 16, worshipers gathered for morning service in a church in Kajuru, Kaduna State, only to be met with gunfire that claimed 18 lives. In the days since, attacks in Zamfara, Niger, and Katsina have added at least 32 more names to the growing list of the dead. In total, over 120 Nigerians have been slaughtered in just seven days. Can 120 Nigerians be killed in a single week and the government expect that not to be on the front page? Can families be thrown into mourning across six states and the media be asked to look away? For the media to hide such atrocities is not patriotism but complicity in the ongoing slaughter.

Yet, rather than confront this carnage with honesty, the President, his cabinet members, and his loyal supporters are actively working to hide the scale of the ongoing massacres. Security reports are classified, casualty figures are deliberately suppressed, and journalists who dare to venture into conflict zones are accused of being unpatriotic. This strategy of concealment will only worsen the situation. When a government hides the truth, it emboldens the enemy. Bandits interpret silence as weakness. Citizens interpret silence as complicity.

The Federal Government, through the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, recently made an astonishing appeal to journalists: please take these terrorists and criminals off your front pages. This appeal was made at a National Security Summit in Abuja on June 10, just two days before the Borno massacre. The minister argued that responsible journalism requires knowing what not to report. But how can the media ignore what the government itself cannot contain? How can journalists pretend that bandits are not the most powerful non-state actors when they operate with impunity, negotiate with state officials, and receive ransom payments? The government cannot fund banditry through ransom payments and then blame the media for reporting the consequences.

In February 2026, Agence France-Presse published an explosive investigation revealing that the Nigerian government allegedly paid a large ransom to Boko Haram to secure the release of pupils and staff abducted from St. Mary's Catholic boarding school in Papiri, Niger State, in November 2025. AFP cited multiple intelligence sources familiar with the negotiations. According to the report, negotiations were led by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. Four intelligence sources told AFP that the government paid what they described as a huge ransom, with estimates ranging from about 2 billion naira to roughly 7 million dollars. AFP reported claims that the money was allegedly delivered by helicopter to a Boko Haram commander identified as Ali Ngulde in Gwoza, Borno State. The report further alleged that two Boko Haram commanders were released as part of the arrangement. While the government strongly denied the allegations, AFP reported that Ribadu did not respond to requests for comment. The opposition African Democratic Congress called for clarification and questioned whether anti-ransom laws had been violated. How can a government accused of paying billions in ransom through its own National Security Adviser expect the media not to report it?

On February 26, 2025, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, referred to bandits and terrorists as prodigal sons during a public address at the National War College. He argued that these criminals should be given a chance to repent rather than be eliminated. The Catholic Bishop of Ondo Diocese called the remark saddening and insulting, arguing that the prodigal son did not kill his father or kill his brother. How can the highest military officer call terrorists prodigal sons and expect the media not to place that on the front page?

Meanwhile, bandits operate online with terrifying sophistication. They host live sessions on TikTok showing off weapons, flashing huge sums of money, and recruiting young Nigerians. In one 30-minute giveaway on April 3, 2025, a bandit group reportedly distributed over 100 million naira. They preach in Hausa and Fulfulde, languages that TikTok's moderation tools cannot effectively monitor. How can bandits be on social media doing giveaways and the government expect the media not to report it? How can Osama bin Laden not afford to run a social media handle for fear of detection, yet Nigerian bandits run multiple accounts with impunity?

The National Bureau of Statistics reported on May 15, 2024, that Nigerians paid a staggering 2.2 trillion naira in ransom between May 2023 and April 2024. The House of Representatives has proposed a bill to criminalize ransom negotiations by government officials. How can lawmakers move to criminalize what the government denies doing?

The Nigerian people no longer trust this administration. A pervasive sentiment echoes across every village and city that this government is more preoccupied with its own re-election than with protecting the lives of its citizens. The government is sponsoring insecurity, that is the problem, not the media.

In a climate of government denial and suppression, the media remains the only avenue for Nigerians to garner international sympathy and attract global attention. When the government refuses to speak the truth, the media must speak it. When the government hides the bodies, the media must count them. That is why the people cannot be silenced.

The media cannot solve this crisis. Only the government can. It can start by stopping all ransom payments, halting all negotiations, treating bandits as terrorists, and shutting down their social media operations. Until that happens, bandits will remain on the front page.

Dear Mr. President, the problem is ransom payment and negotiating with terrorists, not the media. If you want them off the front page, stop giving them reasons to be there. Stop funding them. Stop legitimizing them. And start fighting them with the seriousness they deserve. The world is watching. The people are watching. To hide these atrocities is not patriotism, it is complicity. To report them is not treason, it is the highest form of love for a nation bleeding to death.

Mohammed Bello Doka can be reached via [email protected] 

Abuja Network News