Chief of Defence Intelligence, Air Vice Marshal –AVM, Mohammed Usman says ransom generated from kidnapping is a major source of funding for terror groups in the country.
It is for this reason that he said kidnapping has continued to flourish despite spirited effort by the Military and other Security Agencies to address the problem.
AVM Mohammed Usman stated this in Abuja while presenting a paper entitled, State of insecurity in Nigeria and ongoing National Strategies to overcome them, at a two-day capacity building retreat organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Defence in collaboration with Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) and the Centre for Strategic Research and Studies, National Defence College.
He stated that terrorists had employed kidnapping to fund their activities because of the low risk in abduction for money.
The AVM said kidnapping, which was predominant in the South South and South East, had become a phenomenon across the country, particularly in the North West Zone with Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara as the worst affected states.
He noted that terrorists’ activities championed by insurgents and bandits remained the most potent threat to National Security.
AVM Usman said so far, in the first quarter of 2020, 108 kidnap victims were rescued, while 166 kidnappers have being killed with 216 arrests made.
Chairman of the House Committee on Defence, Babajide Benson, said the retreat was organised to equip members of the Committee with the necessary knowledge to carry out their duties in the defence sector.
He was of thhe view that the Nation’s Security challenges were highly demanding now than any time in the history of the Country, adding that the situation calls for synergy and collaboration.