Ogundoyin disclosed this while addressing the growing debate over whether governments should negotiate with kidnappers and terrorists to secure the freedom of victims.
The Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin, has revealed that terrorists holding abducted schoolchildren and teachers from Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State are demanding weapons, money and concessions on future Nigerian laws as conditions for their release.
Ogundoyin disclosed this while addressing the growing debate over whether governments should negotiate with kidnappers and terrorists to secure the freedom of victims.
His comments come weeks after terrorists attacked schools and communities in Esiele and Yawota, abducting pupils, teachers and residents and triggering nationwide outrage.
Questioning the wisdom of yielding to the demands of the abductors, Ogundoyin suggested that the terrorists' conditions go beyond the payment of ransom.
"To bring these children and teachers back, if it is up to you, will you negotiate with terrorists if terrorists ask for weapons, they ask for money, they ask for concessions on future laws of this land as part of their ransom?" he asked.
"If you were the governor, will you accept those ransoms? Will you accept that those people should be accepted into that community?"
The Speaker warned that negotiating with armed groups could strengthen their operations and encourage future attacks.
"The more you negotiate with these people, the more you embolden them," he added.
Ogundoyin's remarks come amid increasing pressure on the Oyo State and Federal Governments to secure the release of dozens of schoolchildren and teachers abducted during coordinated attacks on communities in Oriire Local Government Area on May 15.
The abductions have sparked emotional appeals from parents and relatives, many of whom have repeatedly called on authorities to rescue their children alive.
In a viral video seen by kakaki okeogun news, one of the affected mothers, Mrs Aduke Balogun, recounted how gunmen dressed in military uniforms stormed her community and abducted her eight-year-old daughter, Kehinde Kaosara.
"In Esiele, we are begging you. Our children went to school. It was after 9 a.m. when we truly saw the kidnappers. They wore army uniforms," she said.
"Before we understood what was going on, they started shooting and all of us ran away. I later saw my eight-year-old daughter, Kehinde Kaosara, among the abducted children.
"We are begging the government to bring back our children alive."
KAKAKI OKEOGUN NEWS previously reported that the terrorists invaded schools in Esiele and Yawota communities, killing an assistant headmaster identified as Joel Adesiyan and a commercial motorcyclist before marching pupils, teachers and residents into a nearby forest reserve.
The latest disclosure by the Oyo Speaker is likely to intensify discussions about the government's approach to negotiating with terrorist groups, particularly as families of the victims continue to demand urgent action to secure the release of their loved ones.
