The National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) under the office of the National Security Adviser at a recently concluded Multi-Agency Kidnap Fusion Cell (MAAKFC) launched in Abuja said Nigerians will feel safer in 2025.
The national security adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu said the federal government has in a short while of less than two years, achieved 80 percent successes in the fight against kidnapping in the country despite report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that Nigerians paid ransom of over N2.2trn in the year 2024.
According to the report, 2.2m Nigerians were kidnapped while 614,937 were killed in the same year.
The national coordinator, National Counter Terrorism Centre, Major General Adamu Laka blamed rampant kidnapping on the flamboyant lifestyle of Nigerians in the face of widespread hunger.
He said Nigerians disregard security consciousness and fail to report to security agencies when relatives are kidnapped.
He added that most Nigerians pay ransom without reporting to security agencies hence, the need to have a streamlined cell for handling kidnap cases in the country.
He said most kidnappings in Nigeria are only reported when random payment fails to get freedom for the abducted individuals.
He added that the government was tracking such funds, adding, “We are assuring Nigerians that at the end of 2025, Nigeria will be a safer place,” he said.
Commenting on the NBS recent reports, he said “If they feel that this amount is just based on a study, based on fact, then I agree with al ot of people pay ransom without our knowledge. A lot of people are being kidnapped without informing the security agencies. Who are those kidnapping? You flaunt your wealth and except your neighbor who has no food to allow you. Nigerians need to be security conscious and it’s relative,” he said.
He, however, said the government was engaging with bandits, encouraging them to lay down arms and embrace peace.
The UK deputy high commissioner to Nigeria, Gill Lever, attributed kidnappings in Nigeria to lack of socioeconomic means of survival. She said, if people are provided with jobs, there won’t be incentives to kidnapping.
Gill said it was lack of means of survival that pushed many people into kidnapping.
The director, State liaison, ONSA, Hajiya Lami Chinade, said kidnapping was a deviant behavior, however, the government is considering non kinetic approach to address it.
The national coordinator, National Centre for Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, DIG Johnson Kokumo said the NBS report will serve as a basis for security agencies in the coming year.
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