Defence Minister Christopher Musa has warned Nigerians against paying ransom to terrorists and bandits, saying anyone who does so is committing a criminal offence.
Boko Haram and armed bandits reportedly collected about N8 billion in ransom within one year.
“We are not paying ransom. We don’t encourage it. Anybody who is even paying ransom is committing an offence. It’s not a government policy to pay any ransom to anybody. Anybody doing it is doing it for his own sake,” Musa said during a Channels TV interview on Thursday.
The ban on ransom payments is contained in Section 14 of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act. It criminalises the transfer of funds or payment of ransom to kidnappers, with a minimum 15-year jail term upon conviction.
The Senate passed the amendment on April 27, 2022, while then-President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, into law on May 12, 2022.
Musa said security forces rescue victims by blocking escape routes.
“The funniest thing is, terrorists, too, don’t want to die. If we deploy a drone, you see them scattered and leave everybody (captives). That’s what happens. What we normally do is, once we are able to identify where they are, we block avenues for them.
“Take out the oxygen from them; they’ll die. Terrorists thrive because people sneak to give them food, water and other support. If they don’t have that, they can’t survive,” stated the minister.
He also praised the Central Bank of Nigeria for helping track money sources linked to terrorists and kidnappers.
“The CBN is doing a lot of work too. If we are able to trace where money is coming from, we’ll be able to track where they are,” Mr Musa said.
