The Nigerian government claims that no fewer than 1,000 victims of abductions in the country have so far been rescued by the President Bola Tinubu administration without the payment of any ransom.

National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, who disclosed this on Monday when he received 22 kidnapped students and staff of the Federal University of Gusau, Zamfara State, who were rescued on Sunday by security operatives, said the Tinubu administration had vowed never to pay ransom in any form to criminals so as not to encourage the proliferation of such cases.

The NSA, who recieved the freed victims in his office in Abuja, commended the security operatives who carried out the rescue operation without losing any of the abducted students or paying any ransom.

“On behalf of the President, I thank all those involved in the successful rescue of the victims without losing anyone of them or paying any ransom” Ribadu said.

“This is yet again a success story in our efforts to free all those being unlawfully held in captivity.

“We have so far released over a thousand such victims without noise and with complete respect to their privacy and safety.

“This occasion marks a final juncture in a series of rescues we have undertaken in the last few months, to free victims of recent cases of mass abductions.

“Going forward, we are strengthening law enforcement and security measures to prevent these abductions and strengthen physical security across vulnerable communities.”

On Friday, September 22, 2023, suspected bandits riding on about 50 motorcycles and armed with sophisticated weapons, had invaded three students hostels in Sabon Gida Village near the Federal University, Gusau, Zamfara State, where they kidnapped a number of students and staff of the institution and whisked them to an unknown destination.”

Seven of the students were initially rescued by the police while two escaped, leaving a total of 22 others in captivity.

But on Sunday, April 14, the 22 captives, comprising 15 students and seven workers of the university, were rescued in an exercise coordinated by the National Counter-Terrorism Centre.

The National Coordinator, NCTC, Maj-Gen Adamu Laka (retd.), who briefed the NSA on the rescue mission, said search and rescue operations conducted by security agencies led to the release of the students in three batches.

“Search and rescue was conducted by a combined team of law enforcement agencies and the abductees were subsequently released in three batches, after 207 days in captivity.

“The first batch was rescued on March 15 the second batch was rescued on April 12 and the last batch rescued on April 14.

“All the abductees were profiled at NCTC while the ONSA Medical Team examined them and administered minor treatments on the bruises sustained by three of them.

“Four of them were diagnosed with malaria and are being treated. None of the females was molested and all the females tested negative for pregnancy test,” Laka said

The Zambian Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Gilbert Phiri, has contended that ex-President Edgar Lungu’s daughter, Tasila, has no known source of income that would warrant her display of wealth which included the purchase of a farm in Sinda district.

Phiri had last year filed an application before the Economic and Financial Crimes Court, High Court division, to forfeit to the State the farm with an estimated value of K13 million.

But in her objection to the order, Tasila had challenged the State to prove her guilty of criminally acquiring the farm which she said was purchased with financial assistance from her father.

She described the investigations against her by the agencies including the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), as “deliberate, intentional and malicious” following the change of government after the 2021 presidential elections.

The DPP, while testifying in the alleged corruption case against Tasila, argued that her mere mention of her father as having financially assisted her to purchase the farm is not proof enough to conclude that the property was acquired and developed using legitimate funds.

The State’s evidence which was contained in an affidavit in reply to Tasila’s claims in opposition, also demanded for her to provide documentation depicting the movement of funds from the former President to herself.

Meanwhile, the DEC senior investigations officer, Emmanuel Khondwe, who also testified in the celebrated case, noted that there was cogent evidence that suggested that the property was reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime, thus, should be forfeited to the State.

Khondwe stated that according to investigations carried out by the agency. Tasila had no known income prior to the period June 11, 2015, to August 31, 2021.

In its affidavit, the DEC contended “that it is crucial for the interested party to provide clear documentation demonstrating the interested party’s father’s involvement and assistance in acquiring and developing the property, along with evidence of his financial contribution.

“That additionally, thorough disclosure of the interested party’s father’s financial sources is necessary to ascertain the legality of the funds so gifted to the interested party which were utilized to acquire and develop the property in question.

“That this information is crucial for the court to make well informed decisions regarding the legality of the funds and the status of the property under scrutiny.”

Khondwe, however, responded that the forfeiture proceedings against the property were not malicious but allegations true, founded and supported by compelling evidence.

“The interested party must demonstrate, in explicit detail, the origin and timelines showing when she came into possession of the funds utilized for the acquisition and development of the property,” he stated.

The State has also denied infringement of Tasila’s constitutional right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty with Khondwe arguing that the forfeiture proceedings were not directed at her but rather at the property itself.