How I discouraged ransom payment until I was kidnapped

Mike Ejiofor, a former Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) has said he used to discourage families of those who were kidnapped from paying ransom until he became a victim of kidnapping.

He said the spate of kidnappings can still be curtailed but the failure to address the insecurity is hinged on insufficient resources. Ejiofor said this in an interview with newsmen, while reacting to the killings of traditional rulers by kidnappers in Ekiti and Kwara states.

He said, “It (insecurity) is not out of control but people are worried. I am worried. The issue is that we have not deployed sufficient resources to tackle the problem.”

Before I became a victim, I had often said people shouldn’t pay ransom. But that notion changed after I became a victim.

He who feels it knows it. Unless you are not involved, you will do everything possible including payment of ransom to release your relative.