Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has denied claims that he collected ransom money or acted as a middleman between kidnappers and the government, saying he has never handled N1 billion in cash.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Ndume described the allegations as untrue while reacting to claims made by the president of the Borno South Youth Alliance, Samaila Kaigama, over the kidnapping of residents of Ngoshe in Borno State.
“I have said it before. In my entire life, I have never seen N1 billion in cash, let alone N5 billion,” the senator said.
Ndume said he never negotiated with terrorists or helped arrange any ransom payment. He explained that his only role was informing security agencies after Kaigama told him about a video allegedly released by Boko Haram/ISWAP demanding N5 billion.
He said he immediately contacted the National Security Adviser and the Department of State Services (DSS), asking them to invite Kaigama to back up his claims.
“I told them that there is need to bring us and hear him out as he said he wants to be heard, so that he will have the opportunity to prove all these his allegations.
“And the government should take this matter very seriously because it borders on national security. It’s very dangerous. This has to do with international security because ISWAP and all these terrorist organizations are involved.
Ndume said his relationship with Kaigama turned sour after he rejected calls to contribute toward paying ransom for the victims.
“So after he started bothering me about personal contribution to ransom payment, I told him that I do not support negotiation with Boko Haram, not to talk of paying ransom. I think that’s where the problem started.
“He started issuing out all these uncoordinated and contradictory statements about my involvement and the likes,” Ndume said.
The senator said he had already denied the allegations during an interview on ARISE News, insisting he had never acted, directly or indirectly, as a link between kidnappers and the government or private individuals.
He added that Kaigama first reached out after insurgents allegedly kidnapped hundreds of Ngoshe residents and gave a 72-hour deadline for a N5 billion ransom. Ndume also said he would sue Kaigama for defamation and urged security agencies to fully investigate the allegations as a national security matter.
