The Federal Government of Nigeria has denied allegations that it paid a N2 billion ransom to secure the release of students abducted from St. Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger State, describing the claims as “false and baseless.” In a statement issued Tuesday in Abuja, Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris reaffirmed the government’s longstanding policy against ransom payments. He said the students’ release followed coordinated security operations, intelligence gathering, and inter-agency collaboration not financial inducements. The government was responding to a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP), which cited intelligence sources alleging that millions of dollars were paid to militants, alongside the release of two commanders, to secure the freedom of up to ...