Bandits Want Their Captured Commanders Freed, So They Hold Children And Threaten To Kill Them -General Christopher Musa

General Christopher Musa has disclosed that bandits are holding recently abducted students for ransom specifically to pressure the military into releasing captured commanders from their camps. He explained that the search operation has become extremely complicated because the terrorists have explicitly threatened to kill the children if security forces move any closer to their hideouts.

Speaking during an interview with journalist Akene Ezeji, the Defense Minister described the dense, transnational forest terrain spanning Nigeria, Benin Republic, and Burkina Faso as a major obstacle to locating the kidnappers. He also voiced strong support for capital punishment as a necessary deterrent against the nation’s worsening kidnapping crisis, arguing that lenient laws have emboldened criminals.

In General Christopher Musa’s words: “They are looking for leverage because we have some of their commanders with us, and they feel taking these kids and holding them for ransom will make us release their commanders. The unfortunate thing is the area I visited is just 10 meters to the forest, so they quickly walked in, picked these guys, and went back in.”

Backing calls for the death penalty, he added: “There must be deterrence, no two ways about it. If the laws are soft on them, people will take advantage. In America, they still carry out the death penalty, so why should we be different? That will serve as a deterrent to others…....