Former Cross River State Governor and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, Donald Duke, has attributed Nigeria’s escalating insecurity and the payment of approximately N2 trillion in ransoms to kidnappers in 2025 to years of failed and self-serving leadership.
Duke made the remarks on Wednesday in Abuja while accepting the PRP’s presidential nomination during the presentation of certificates of return and party flags to the party’s candidates for the 2027 general elections.
He painted a grim picture of the country’s security situation, stating that criminal elements now wield more influence than the government in some areas.
“Our land has become so desolate that bandits, gangsters and kidnappers collect taxes while the government collects excuses,” Duke said.
Citing figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, he noted that the N2 trillion paid as ransom to kidnappers in 2025 alone was equivalent to about 10 per cent of the entire federal budget.
The former governor blamed successive
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