Insecurity: Reps probe ₦2.23tn ransom economy fueling terrorism

The House of Representatives on Wednesday called for urgent executive action to dismantle the financial networks sustaining kidnapping, banditry and terrorism, urging the Federal Government to strengthen financial intelligence coordination and tighten oversight of Bureau De Change operators, Point-of-Sale operators and other financial intermediaries.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion titled, “Need for Executive Action to Halt the Ransom Cash Economy, Strengthen Financial Intelligence Coordination, and Enforce Compliance with Anti-Money Laundering Frameworks in Nigeria,” sponsored by Lagos lawmaker, Ademorin Kuye.

Moving the motion, Kuye said the Federal Government has a constitutional responsibility to protect lives and safeguard Nigeria’s economic sovereignty, noting that existing laws already empower relevant institutions to detect and disrupt illicit financial flows

He cited provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, which require financial institutions, designated non-financial businesses and government agencies “to identify, report and prevent transactions linked to money laundering, terrorism financing and ransom payments.”

The lawmaker expressed concern over the growing scale of Nigeria’s ransom economy, citing reports by the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, the National Bureau of Statistics Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey, 2024, and independent security research organisations, which estimated that “Nigerians paid about N2.23tn in ransom between January 2021 and June 2025.

According to him, “the huge sums paid to kidnappers have continued to fuel organised criminal activities across the country.”

Kuye also referenced findings by the National Counter Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser, which showed that some POS operators and other financial channels had been exploited “to facilitate ransom payments and conceal financial trails, making investigations and asset recovery more difficult.”

He further warned that “Criminal groups are increasingly using both formal and informal financial systems, including Bureau De Change operators, hawala networks, cryptocurrency platforms, livestock transactions and trade-based money laundering schemes, to launder proceeds of crime and integrate them into the legitimate economy.”

The House noted that persistent weaknesses in financial intelligence coordination and enforcement of anti-money laundering regulations continue to expose Nigeria to heightened security risks, undermine public confidence and increase the country’s vulnerability to international sanctions, including its continued placement on the Financial Action Task Force grey list.

Following the debate, the House urged President Bola Tinubu to “establish a coordinated inter-agency framework to disrupt ransom financing and improve collaboration among security, regulatory and financial institutions.”

Lawmakers also called on the Federal Government to “strengthen the enforcement of laws relating to ransom payments and terrorism financing while encouraging greater cooperation among victims, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies.”

The House further urged the Federal Ministry of Finance to “provide adequate funding for financial intelligence infrastructure, including advanced transaction monitoring and analytical systems.”

It also directed the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit and other regulatory agencies to conduct a comprehensive audit of suspicious POS transactions in high-risk areas, strengthen real-time monitoring of suspicious financial activities linked to kidnapping, terrorism and other organised crimes, and tighten regulatory oversight of Bureau De Change operators and other financial intermediaries to prevent their use for money laundering and ransom payments.

In addition, lawmakers urged the Attorney-General of the Federation and relevant law enforcement agencies to “investigate and prosecute individuals and organisations found to be facilitating ransom transactions in line with existing laws.”

The House also called on the National Security Adviser to convene a national stakeholders’ summit on financial intelligence and ransom financing to develop a coordinated strategy for disrupting criminal financial networks.

It further urged security agencies to “subject funds and assets recovered during anti-kidnapping and counter-terrorism operations to forensic financial investigations aimed at identifying and dismantling criminal financing structures.”

Earlier in his contribution, the lawmaker representing Kanke/Pankshin/Kanam Federal Constituency of Plateau State, Mr Yusuf Gagdi supported the motion, noting that the continuous payment of ransom was helping to keep bandits in business.

“I am in support of this motion. When a student passes his examination, he is rewarded so that in future, he will do more. The payment of ransom to kidnappers and bandits is not helpful. If we stop paying ransom, that will demoralise them,” he said.

He further urged the Federal Government to stop rehabilitating repentant bandits, saying, “These are people who have killed military and police officers. They ambushed them and killed them. The bandits should not be rehabilitated; they should be killed.”

Some lawmakers also spoke in the same vein.

This position was, however, faulted by Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno State), who argued that those opposed to ransom payment are only vocal against the practice because their family members had never fallen victim to kidnapping.

He said, “For us from the insecurity-ravaged areas, we know what our people face when their loved ones are abducted. I doubt if any of these people saying ransom should not be paid to secure the freedom of the abducted, have ever had their family members taken by these criminals. Even the Federal Bureau of Investigations pay ransom to secure the life, sometimes of one person.”

He also urged the Federal Government to do everything possible to rehabilitate kidnapped persons anytime they are rescued.

To ensure implementation of the resolutions, the House mandated its Committees on National Security and Intelligence, Banking Regulations, and Financial Crimes to monitor compliance and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.

Kidnapping for ransom has become one of Nigeria’s most pressing security challenges in recent years, with criminal gangs increasingly targeting commuters, farmers, students and residents across several states. Security experts have repeatedly argued that disrupting the financial networks that sustain such criminal enterprises is essential to weakening the capacity of kidnappers and terrorist groups to operate.(Punch)