Yusuf Adamu Gadgi, member representing Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency in Plateau State, has reiterated his position on banditry, arguing that Nigeria should focus on eliminating criminal groups rather than negotiating with them or rehabilitating surrendered fighters.

Speaking during an interview with TVC News on Sunday, Gadgi acknowledged the emotional burden faced by families of kidnapping victims, saying he understood why many choose to pay ransom in desperate attempts to secure the release of their loved ones.

“It is often very traumatic, especially for family members whose loved ones have been kidnapped and they are asked to pay ransom. I don’t blame them,” Gadgi said.

However, he stressed that his position remains firmly against ransom payments, insisting that military action offers a more effective long-term solution.

“I don’t believe in the school of thought that says pay bandit ransom. If you kill these people, they will not even exist to collect ransom,” he said.

Gadgi pointed to what he described as the successful rescue of abducted schoolchildren in Oyo State through security operations, arguing that decisive military action should replace negotiations with criminal groups.

The lawmaker also criticised government programmes that rehabilitate former insurgents and bandits, describing them as unfair to victims and their families.

“Taxpayers’ money should not be channelled to the so-called rehabilitation. Instead, let the money be channelled to the families of the victims, not to someone who killed your relatives,” he said.

He expressed concern that some rehabilitated ex-fighters could return to criminal activities or compromise national security by providing intelligence to armed groups.

Gadgi maintained that Nigeria’s security forces should focus on confronting and neutralising armed criminals rather than granting them amnesty or rehabilitation.

“Don’t give them ransom, kill them. When they kill innocent people, the security agencies should equally eliminate them whenever they apprehend them,” he said.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has criticized the failure of opposition political parties to meet the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, deadline for the submission of candidates for the 2027 general elections, saying it exposes their lack of preparedness to govern.

The party made the assertion in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, after confirming that the APC successfully met INEC’s deadline for the submission of its presidential and National Assembly candidates.

According to the APC, although INEC later extended the deadline from July 11 to July 14, 2026, at the request of opposition parties, the development highlighted what it described as the opposition’s inability to effectively manage its internal affairs.

The statement reads: “Our great party satisfied this requirement despite the large number of party candidates contesting on the party’s platform for the various elective offices.

“At the request of opposition political parties that had failed to meet the July 11 deadline, @inecnigeria granted an extension of the deadline to July 14, 2026.

“While INEC acted within its statutory powers and administrative discretion in extending the deadline for opposition parties to upload the names of their candidates, it is noteworthy that the extension was necessitated by the stark failure of opposition parties to manage their internal processes to comply with INEC’s submission deadline, despite having fewer candidates to manage compared to the APC.

“This development provides yet another clear indication of the opposition’s chronic inherent weakness and raises legitimate questions about their operational capacity. Political parties that cannot efficiently conclude their own internal nomination processes cannot possibly be trusted by Nigerians to possess the competence, discipline, or readiness to govern our great nation or its subnational governments.”

The party also accused opposition parties of hypocrisy, recalling their previous allegations that the ruling party influenced INEC’s decisions.

“It is starkly ironical that the same opposition parties have repeatedly peddled false, malicious, and unfounded tales that the APC controls and dictates INEC’s decisions. Yet, as they failed to meet the submission deadline, they shamelessly turned to the same INEC for respite and were granted an extension.

“And the same APC, which would have been the obvious beneficiary if INEC had stood firm on its original deadline, kept its distance, having met the deadline and completed its submission. Again, this underscores the opposition’s hypocrisy and true character as peddlers of fake news and merchants of blackmail.

“With the successful upload of the particulars of all its presidential, vice-presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives candidates on the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal, the APC has, again, demonstrated its leadership, superior organisational capacity, discipline, and solid commitment to due process.

“As we conclude this important phase of the electoral process, we call on all party leaders, stakeholders, members, and supporters to turn their full attention to the task ahead.

“We must remain focused and continue to strengthen our structures at all levels, increase awareness of the massive achievements under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, deepen grassroots mobilisation, and prepare for a vigorous, issue-based campaign that will earn our great party a renewed mandate in the 2027 general elections,” it added.