Nigeria’s Nationwide Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) has raised alarm over the function of some point-of-sale (POS) operators in facilitating ransom funds to terrorists and felony gangs.
The Nationwide Coordinator of the centre, Adamu Laka, disclosed this on Tuesday throughout an end-of-year media briefing in Abuja.
Mr Laka, a serious normal within the Nigerian Military, spoke amid a renewed wave of kidnapping-for-ransom, significantly in northern Nigeria, the place armed teams have more and more focused faculties, locations of worship and rural communities.
In November alone, two separate faculty abductions have been recorded in Kebbi and Niger states, though all of the pupils have been later launched.
Though the federal government formally discourages the cost of ransom, households of kidnapped victims usually pay to safe the discharge of their family members. Authorities have additionally repeatedly denied allegations that the federal government itself pays kidnappers.
In line with Mr Laka, investigations into terrorism and kidnapping instances present that ransom funds are more and more routed via POS terminals.
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“In lots of instances, ransom funds are transferred by victims on to POS operators whose account particulars are offered by terrorists,” he mentioned. “The cash is then withdrawn by the criminals.”
He mentioned safety businesses have been already taking steps to deal with the issue.
Nigeria’s POS sector has expanded quickly lately, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas with restricted entry to banks. Hundreds of brokers now deal with money withdrawals, transfers and invoice funds for banks and fintech firms, usually working in casual settings.
Whereas the system has improved entry to monetary companies, Mr Laka mentioned it has additionally created loopholes that criminals are exploiting.
The Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN) has issued guidelines for POS and agent banking operations, together with buyer identification necessities, transaction limits and obligatory reporting of suspicious transactions to the Nigerian Monetary Intelligence Unit.
Below the rules, POS brokers should register correctly, confirm buyer identities and hold information of transactions. Banks and fintech firms are additionally required to watch uncommon money actions and freeze accounts linked to felony exercise.
Nonetheless, observers say enforcement is uneven, particularly in rural areas the place oversight is weak.
Mr Laka additionally mentioned terrorist and felony teams are altering ways, requiring stronger intelligence coordination and regional cooperation.
He confirmed that safety businesses are working collectively to counter threats from the Sahel, together with infiltration by teams resembling Lakurawa and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) into components of north-west and north-central Nigeria.
He added that terrorists are more and more utilizing social media to unfold propaganda, saying the NCTC has engaged platforms resembling TikTok, Fb, Instagram, Snapchat and X to take down extremist content material.
