Oyo Govt denies paying ransom for abducted pupils, teachers, blasts VDM

The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, through the Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, has reacted to claims by a social media critic, Martins Vincent, popularly known as VeryDarkMan that the government paid a ransom for the release of the abducted pupils and teachers.

DAILY POST reports that VDM in a post on his official Facebook page on Friday, alleged  that the government paid ransom to facilitate the release of the victims but the abductors held them back despite receiving the payment.

Reacting, a statement by the Information Commissioner declared that the allegation was untrue, describing it as the “handiwork of irresponsible bloggers”.

The commissioner further clarified that though the state and federal government are working to ensure the safe return of the victims abducted from Oriire Local Government Area of the state on May 15, no ransom has been paid as claimed by VDM.

The government called on the general public to disregard what it termed as “false reports”, urging them to rely on from the government channels.

It restated the government’s commitment in ensuring that the abductees are released to “bring this sad event to an end.”