Defence Minister Condemns Crowdfunding For Kidnap Victims

The Minister of Defence, Muhammad Badaru, has condemned crowdfunding for victims of kidnapping.

Badaru stated this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

According to him, sourcing for ransom on social media by families and friends of abducted victims is illegal.

He noted that the Nigerian Terrorism Act criminalises such act, saying that it emboldens criminals.

According to the minister, FEC noted with concerns the spate of kidnapping in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and mandated the service chiefs to beef up security in the nation’s capital.

The defence minister explained that during a meeting with service chiefs on Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu ordered them to swing into action and bring the menace to an end.

He attributed the rise in security challenges within the FCT to the military operations in the North-West and parts of North Central which have forced the bandits to flee their hideouts.

He said most of the cases of kidnapping in the FCT happen in the suburbs.

Outrage had trailed the abduction of six siblings and their father in the Bwari Area Council of Abuja on January 3, 2024. The kidnappers reportedly killed one of the sisters identified as Nabeehah after their parents couldn’t meet the deadline for payment of N60 million ransom.

An ex-minister Isa Pantami had said his associate volunteered N50m to sort out part of the ransom, fuelling criticisms about crowdfunding ransom by a former FEC member during the ex-President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

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