The National Counter Terrorism Centre, Office of the National Security Adviser, on Thursday, 6 February, 2025 held a Press Briefing to assess the 2024 anti-kidnap efforts by the security agencies under the coordination of the Centre through its Multi-Agency Anti-Kidnap Fusion Cell (MAAKFC) which was launched in December, 2024.

                                                                                                                     National Coordinator, NCTC, Maj Gen AG Laka, briefing the Press

According to the National Coordinator of the Centre, Maj Gen Adamu Garba Laka, kidnapping for ransom posed a significant challenge in 2024, with non-state actors such as bandits, terrorists, cultists, militants, and secessionist groups exploiting  the crime for pecuniary gains and funding of illicit activities. He noted that the Office of the National Security Adviser, under Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, in collaboration with other security agencies, ensured a reduction in kidnapping incidents in the country, by 16.3% in the year under review. General Laka added that despite some improvements, the menace remains a serious threat to national security, socio-economic activities, and food production across the country.

                                                    National Coordinator, NCTC, Maj Gen AG Laka (6th right) in a group photo with some senior management staff of the Centre and the Press

He assured of  government’s preparedness to stem the tide in the year 2025 by strengthening its counter-kidnapping initiatives across the country.