The House of Representatives on Tuesday called for urgent executive action to dismantle the financial networks fuelling kidnapping, banditry and terrorism, urging the Federal Government to tighten oversight of Bureau De Change (BDC) operators, Point-of-Sale (POS) agents 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 Rep. Ademorin Kuye (APC, Lagos).
Moving the motion, Kuye said the Federal Government has a constitutional duty to protect lives and preserve Nigeria’s economic sovereignty, stressing that existing laws already empower relevant agencies 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 mandate financial institutions, designated non-financial businesses and government agencies to identify 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 (NFIU), the National Bureau of Statistics’ Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey 2024, and independent security organisations, which estimated that Nigerians paid about N2.23 trillion in ransom between January 2021 and June 2025.
According to him, the huge sums paid to kidnappers have continued to finance organised criminal activities across the country.
Kuye also referenced findings by the National Counter Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser, indicating that some POS operators and other financial channels have been exploited to facilitate ransom payments and conceal financial trails, thereby complicating investigations and asset recovery.
He warned that criminal groups are increasingly exploiting both formal and informal financial systems, including BDC 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, erode public confidence and increase the country’s vulnerability to international sanctions, including its continued placement on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.
Following deliberations, the lawmakers urged President Bola Tinubu to establish a coordinated inter-agency framework to disrupt ransom financing and improve collaboration among security, regulatory and financial institutions.
The House also called on the Federal Government to strengthen the enforcement of laws relating to ransom payments and terrorism financing while promoting cooperation among victims, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies.
Lawmakers further urged the Federal Ministry of Finance to provide adequate funding for financial intelligence infrastructure, including advanced transaction monitoring and analytical systems.
They directed the Central Bank of Nigeria, the NFIU 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 and terrorism, and tighten regulatory oversight of BDC operators and other financial intermediaries to prevent their use in money laundering and ransom payments.
In addition, the House 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.
It also called on the National Security Adviser to convene a national stakeholders’ summit on financial intelligence and ransom financing aimed at developing a coordinated strategy to disrupt criminal financial networks.
The lawmakers further directed security agencies to subject funds and assets recovered during anti-kidnapping and counter-terrorism operations to forensic financial investigations to identify and dismantle criminal financing structures.
Contributing to the debate, Rep. Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau) argued that the continued payment of ransom was sustaining the activities of bandits and kidnappers.
“When a student passes an examination, he is rewarded to encourage him to do more. The payment of ransom to kidnappers and bandits only encourages them,” he said.
Gagdi also opposed the rehabilitation of repentant bandits, insisting that those responsible for the killings of security personnel should not be reintegrated.
However, Rep. Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno) disagreed, arguing that those opposed to ransom payments may not fully understand the plight of families whose loved ones have been abducted.
“For those of us from insecurity-ravaged communities, we know the pain of having family members kidnapped. Government must do everything possible to secure the release of abducted persons,” he said, while also calling for the rehabilitation of rescued victims.
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 emerged as one of Nigeria’s most serious security challenges, with criminal gangs increasingly targeting commuters, farmers, students and residents across several states. Security experts have consistently argued that dismantling the financial networks sustaining these criminal enterprises remains critical to weakening their operational capacity.
