New minister stresses that paying criminals empowers terrorist groups
Minister of Defence General Christopher Musa has declared a firm and uncompromising new policy, stating there should be no negotiation with or payment of ransom to terrorists in Nigeria.
General Musa made this definitive statement during his ministerial screening before the Senate, signaling a significant shift in the government’s approach to the pervasive insecurity challenge. The Minister warned that paying ransoms only provides criminals with the resources and time needed to regroup, re-arm, and plan new attacks on innocent communities.
He emphasized that communities that have historically attempted to negotiate with these criminal elements still ended up being attacked later. The newly nominated Minister stressed that government at all levels must enforce a total ban on ransom payments. Musa insisted that the nation’s banking system possesses the capability to digitally monitor and trace financial flows connected to crime, a function that must be fully activated.
Unified national database is critical to counter-insurgency
Beyond the tactical military operations, General Musa argued that Nigeria’s fight against insecurity will remain ineffective until a unified national database is established. He proposed a comprehensive system that captures every citizen and securely links all security, banking, and identity systems together. The retired General noted that the country’s current fragmented data architecture is a major obstacle exploited by criminal networks.
Musa criticized the existing model where multiple national data records sit in silos, operated separately by immigration, quarantine services, and other agencies. He stressed that this fragmentation creates dangerous gaps exploited by kidnappers, bandits, cyber-criminals, and illegal mining syndicates. A simple, unified database is urgently needed to allow security agencies to track and trace criminals easily, enabling instant deactivation of bank accounts or digital access, a standard practice in many developed nations.
Kinetic efforts alone cannot win the war against terrorism
General Musa stressed that military operations, or kinetic efforts, represent only 25–30 per cent of the overall counter-insurgency effort. He argued that deeply rooted socio-economic issues such as poverty, illiteracy, poor governance, and weak local government structures continue to feed criminal activities. The Minister challenged state and local government administrators to take up their responsibility for community-level intelligence gathering and early intervention.
He argued that security agencies alone are incapable of shouldering the entire national security burden. Musa also raised concerns over the nation’s slow justice system, specifically criticizing the prolonged trials for terrorism and kidnapping suspects. He warned that these long delays weaken morale within the armed forces, who risk their lives to make arrests.
Recommended legal reforms and operational adjustments
To address the judicial bottlenecks, General Musa recommended urgent legal reforms, including the establishment of special terrorism courts, the imposition of stronger penalties, and the accelerated hearing of terrorism cases. He drew a sharp contrast with other nations where such cases are handled decisively, noting that prolonged trials here discourage the security forces. The Minister also highlighted a renewal of criminal activities across maritime corridors, urging a total ban on illegal mining, which he described as a primary financing stream for armed groups.
He disclosed plans to withdraw soldiers from routine checkpoints nationwide to free up forces for targeted operations within forests and other ungoverned spaces. Musa stressed that restoring safe access to farmlands is a top national priority. He concluded this point by stating that “A hungry man is an angry man,” thus protecting farmers is tantamount to protecting the nation’s stability.
Senate pushes for death penalty for kidnappers and financiers
The Senate also moved to tighten Nigeria’s anti-kidnapping laws by proposing the death penalty for kidnappers. This severe penalty would also apply to anyone financing, enabling, or providing information to terrorists and kidnappers. The proposal, sponsored by the Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, seeks to classify kidnapping, hostage-taking, and related crimes as acts of terrorism.
The purpose is to provide security agencies with wider powers to track, disrupt, and prosecute criminal networks effectively. Senators debated the amendment to the 2022 Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, with many arguing that the organized and brutal nature of contemporary kidnapping amounts to “terrorism in its purest form.” The proposal now heads to relevant Senate committees for further legislative action.
