The Federal Government has urged Nigerians to refrain from crowd-funding through social media platforms to raise ransom funds for kidnap victims. Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, delivered the warning during a press briefing after the first Federal Executive Council meeting of 2024, chaired by President Bola Tinubu.
The advisory follows recent tragic kidnap incidents in Abuja, where citizens, attempting to meet ransom demands through online crowd-funding, saw an escalation in demands from kidnappers.
The Minister decried the counterproductive nature of this practice, emphasizing that it emboldens kidnappers and exacerbates the security situation. Badaru linked the surge in abductions in Abuja suburbs to the ongoing operations against kidnappers and bandits in neighboring North-Central and Northwestern States.
He called for a strategic and discreet approach, urging the public to manage kidnapping situations intelligently to curb criminal profitability.
The Minister underscored the need to adhere to existing laws against ransom payments and discouraged public discussions and fund-raising for such purposes.
