The House of Representatives has called on the federal government to discontinue the rehabilitation and reintegration of repentant terrorists, kidnappers and bandits, arguing that the policy undermines the fight against insecurity and emboldens criminal elements.
The resolution was reached during Wednesday’s plenary following consideration of a motion to disrupt the financial networks sustaining kidnapping and terrorism, sponsored by Ademorin Kuye (APC, Lagos).
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Presenting the motion, Mr Kuye urged the federal government to intensify efforts to dismantle the financial structures that enable kidnapping and terrorism by strengthening financial intelligence, improving inter-agency collaboration and ensuring strict enforcement of anti-money laundering laws.
He cited reports from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and independent security research organisations, which estimated that Nigerians paid about N2.23 trillion as ransom to kidnappers between January 2021 and June 2025.
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According to him, investigations by the National Counter Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser revealed that some Point-of-Sale (POS) operators and other financial channels have been used to process ransom payments and conceal financial transactions, making it difficult for security agencies to trace the funds or prosecute those involved.
The lawmaker further warned that criminal syndicates and terrorist groups have increasingly exploited both formal and informal financial systems, including bureau de change operators, cryptocurrency platforms, livestock trading and trade-based money laundering schemes, to legitimise proceeds from kidnapping and other violent crimes.
He argued that weak enforcement of anti-money laundering regulations and inadequate coordination among financial intelligence agencies have worsened Nigeria’s security challenges, weakened public confidence and exposed the country to the risk of international sanctions, including its continued placement on the Financial Action Task Force grey list.
However, debate on the motion exposed differing views among lawmakers.
The debate
Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Bamidele Salam, opposed any move that could criminalise ransom payments by victims’ families, insisting that the government must first fulfil its constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property.
He argued that Nigerians forced to pay kidnappers to secure the release of loved ones should not be blamed for taking desperate measures when the state has failed to guarantee their safety.
Supporting the motion, Chairman of the House Committee on Navy, Yusuf Gagdi, maintained that paying ransom only strengthens the operations of kidnappers and bandits by providing them with financial incentives to continue their criminal activities.
He compared ransom payments to rewarding a student for academic success, saying such rewards naturally encourage repeated behaviour.
Mr Gagdi subsequently proposed an amendment urging the federal government to immediately end the rehabilitation and reintegration of convicted or arrested terrorists, kidnappers and bandits into society.
“Anybody who kills deserves to be killed, except in cases such as a motor accident, where the law is clear. But if you invade innocent Nigerians’ homes, kidnap them, take them into the bush, subject them to terrible torture before taking their lives, including those of traditional rulers, you don’t deserve one second of survival,” he said.
He also alleged that some rehabilitated former insurgents had become sources of intelligence leaks, compromising military operations and contributing to attacks on security personnel.
The amendment received overwhelming support and was adopted by voice vote after Speaker Abbas Tajudeen put it to a vote.
Also contributing to the debate, Ahmadu Jaha, who represents Damboa/Gwoza/Chibok Federal Constituency of Borno State, said only families that had experienced abduction truly understood the trauma associated with kidnapping.
He challenged lawmakers opposed to ransom payments to consider whether they would maintain the same position if members of their own families were taken hostage.
Following the debate, the House adopted the motion as amended, calling on the federal government to strengthen measures against the financing of terrorism while ending the rehabilitation and reintegration programme for repentant terrorists and other violent offenders.
Background
The House’s resolution comes against the backdrop of the federal government’s Operation Safe Corridor programme, established in 2016 to deradicalise, rehabilitate and reintegrate low-risk former Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters who voluntarily surrender. The initiative has rehabilitated thousands of former insurgents since its inception.
In early 2025, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, disclosed that about 789 former terrorist combatants were undergoing the De-radicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DRR) programme under the Operation Safe Corridor initiative.
The federal government also announced plans to establish a second Operation Safe Corridor camp in the North-west to encourage willing low-risk terrorists and bandits to surrender and undergo rehabilitation, a policy that has continued to generate public debate over its effectiveness and implications for justice and accountability.
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