The Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has denied allegations that he received ransom money or acted as an intermediary between kidnappers and the government, declaring that he has never seen N1bn in cash in his life.
Ndume made the remarks on Friday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
The senator was responding to allegations by the President of the Borno South Youth Alliance, Samaila Kaigama, linking him to ransom negotiations involving abducted residents of Ngoshe in Borno State.
“I have said it already. In my life, I have never seen N1billion cash, not to talk of N5billion,” he said.
The lawmaker reiterated that he had no role in negotiating with terrorists or facilitating ransom payments, maintaining that his only action was to alert security agencies after Kaigama informed him about a video purportedly released by Boko Haram/ISWAP demanding a N5bn ransom.
“After Kaigame came to make those claims on the television, I quickly spoke with the National Security Adviser and the Department of State Services, DSS, on the matter.
“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.
