The Federal Government has raised alarm over the emerging trend of terrorists exploiting Point of Sale operators to receive ransom payments and evade detection by security agencies.
Major-General Adamu Laka, Director-General of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, disclosed this during the Centre’s 2025 end-of-year press briefing at its headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, December 23.
Laka revealed that Nigerian security agencies are collaborating with major social media companies to identify and shut down accounts used by terrorists and criminal groups to promote their activities and raise funds.
The senior military officer expressed concern that ransom payments remain a significant source of terror financing, with Point of Sale operators increasingly being exploited as intermediaries to move funds while obscuring the money trail.
He explained that kidnappers have adopted the tactic of providing PoS operators’ account details for ransom transfers, making it more difficult for security agencies to trace the ultimate recipients of the funds.
“You see a transfer made by terrorists, and when you investigate the account, it belongs to a PoS operator. The kidnappers give out the PoS operator’s number, the money is transferred, and they go to collect it,” Laka said.
According to the NCTC chief, security agencies have intensified efforts to track ransom payments, arrest those involved in facilitating such transactions, and disrupt terror financing networks. However, he noted that operational details could not be made public for security reasons.
Laka revealed that several arrests and prosecutions have been made in connection with ransom payments and terrorism financing, adding that asset recoveries and seizures are part of Nigeria’s compliance with international anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards.
The Director-General also highlighted the exploitation of social media platforms by terrorist groups, listing TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and X (formerly Twitter) as some of the channels being used to publicize operations, display looted items and communicate with supporters.
He disclosed that security agencies have held multiple engagements with social media companies to address posts and accounts that pose threats to national security.
“These platforms are businesses and are interested in growing their user base, but we engage them and explain the implications of certain posts on national security, and we take them down,” Laka stated.
The counter-terrorism chief noted that terrorist tactics continue to evolve, including the use of aliases and unverified accounts to avoid detection. He emphasized that security agencies are constantly adapting their strategies to counter such developments.
The revelation about PoS exploitation adds another dimension to the challenges facing Nigerian security agencies in their fight against terrorism and kidnapping. PoS operators, who serve as mobile banking agents in communities across the country, have become critical players in Nigeria’s informal financial system, particularly in areas with limited banking infrastructure.
The trend raises concerns about the vulnerability of informal financial systems to abuse by criminal elements and the need for enhanced regulatory oversight and monitoring of PoS operations.
Security experts have long warned that ransom payments fuel the kidnapping industry by providing terrorists and criminal gangs with resources to acquire weapons, recruit members and expand operations. The use of PoS operators as intermediaries complicates efforts to track and disrupt these financial flows.
The disclosure is expected to prompt increased scrutiny of PoS operations and potentially lead to new regulations requiring enhanced customer verification and transaction monitoring by mobile banking agents.
Nigeria has experienced a surge in kidnapping for ransom in recent years, with criminal groups and terrorist organizations conducting mass abductions of students, travelers and communities, particularly in the northwest, north-central and parts of the northeast regions.
The National Counter Terrorism Centre’s efforts to collaborate with social media companies reflect growing global recognition of the role online platforms play in terrorist propaganda, recruitment and fundraising, and the need for coordinated action between governments and technology companies to combat these threats.
