Kankara: Lai Mohammed takes a swipe at Jonathan's Government, says we acted fast than him citing Chibok abduction

The Nigerian government on Tuesday said that timely action as well as synergy among security and intelligence agencies were key factors in the rescue of the 344 abducted school boys in Kankara, Katsina State.

It also cited the patriotism of the locals and other stakeholders in the successful rescue operation carried out by the security and intelligence agencies on Dec. 17

Speaking on the Special NAN Forum in Abuja, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, reiterated that no ransom was paid for the release of the school boys.

He explained that the complete containment of the abductors by the military did not leave room for any ransom negotiation.

The minister also said both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches were adopted in ensuring th

at all the boys were released without harm.

“Kinetic in the sense that there was a show of force by the military both on land and in the air, they completely dominated the area where the children were kept.

“While this was going on, we also employed dialogue, persuasion and reached out to people that could be an influence on the abductors,’’ he said.

Mr Mohammed said timing was of essence in the operation and the military did not wait for hours or days before they mobilised and deployed troops.

“This is the difference between this administration and the previous one which could not achieve any success when students were kidnapped in Chibok, Borno State, in 2014.

“In the cases of Dapchi as well as in Kankara, we were prompt and timely.

“We took responsibility immediately and did not engage in blame game but mobilised all resources and personnel.

“The entire gamut of the military and intelligence agencies all worked together from the moment the adoption was reported.

“We were able to dominate the area where the children were and pinpoint where the abductors were with the children,’’ he said.