The House of Representatives has tasked President Bola Tinubu on a coordinated inter–agency framework against the payment of ransom in the country.
The House emphasised the need to strengthen financial intelligence and collaboration among relevant security, regulatory, and financial institutions to disrupt ransom financing, as reports showed that an estimated ₦2.23 trillion was paid in ransom between January 2021 and June 2025
This was sequel to the unanimous adoption of a motion by Rep. Ademorin Kuye (APC-Lagos) at plenary on Wednesday in Abuja.
“Reports from the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the National Bureau of Statistics’ Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) 2024, and independent security organisations indicate that Nigerians paid an estimated ₦2.23 trillion in ransom between January 2021 and June 2025,” he said.
Mr Kuye stated that this had helped in sustaining kidnapping and other organised criminal activities.
“Investigations by the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), under the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), revealed that point-of-sale (PoS) operators and other financial channels have been used to facilitate ransom payments and conceal financial trails, thereby frustrating recovery efforts and law enforcement investigations.
“Criminal and terrorist networks continued to exploit formal and informal financial systems, including bureau de change operators, hawala networks, cryptocurrency platforms, livestock transactions, and trade-based money laundering schemes to launder ransom proceeds and reintegrate them into the legitimate economy,” the lawmaker said.
The House urged the federal government to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of regulations relating to ransom payments and terrorism financing while promoting cooperation among victims, financial institutions, and law enforcement agencies.
The green chambers also urged the Federal Ministry of Finance to provide adequate funding for financial intelligence infrastructure, including advanced transaction monitoring and analytical systems.
The lawmakers urged CBN, NFIU, and other relevant regulatory authorities to conduct a comprehensive audit of suspicious PoS transactions in high-risk areas and take appropriate regulatory action against operators found to be involved in ransom-related activities.
They called for strengthening real-time monitoring and reporting mechanisms for suspicious financial transactions linked to kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, and other organised crimes.
The House called for strengthening the oversight of bureau de change operators and other financial intermediaries to prevent their use for money laundering and ransom payments.
The lawmakers urged the Attorney General of the Federation and relevant law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute individuals and entities involved in facilitating ransom transactions in accordance with existing laws.
They also urged the National Security Adviser to convene a stakeholders’ summit on financial intelligence and ransom financing to develop a coordinated national strategy to disrupt criminal financial networks.
The legislators urged security agencies to ensure that funds and assets recovered during anti-kidnapping and counter-terrorism operations were subjected to proper forensic financial investigation to identify and
dismantle criminal financing networks.
The House speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, mandated the committees on national security and intelligence, banking regulations, and financial crimes to monitor compliance and report within four weeks for further legislative action.
(NAN)
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