Terrorists now use PoS to collect ransom, FG cries out

Federal Government has raised the alarm over how terrorists now use Point of Sale (PoS) to collect ransom from kidnap victims.

The government said the PoS had become one of the news devised by terrorists to escape when carrying out their nefarious activities.

It also disclosed that security agencies are working with major social media companies to identify and take down accounts used by terrorists and criminal groups to promote their activities and raise funds.

Director-General of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Major-General Adamu Laka, disclosed this to journalists at the Centre’s headquarters in Abuja during 2025 end-of-the-year press briefing.

Laka lamented that ransom payments remained a major source of terror financing, with PoS operators increasingly exploited to move the funds.

According to him, in many cases, ransom payments are transferred to accounts belonging to PoS operators, who then release the cash to kidnappers, making tracking of such money more difficult

“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,” he said.

He said security agencies had intensified efforts to track ransom payments, arrest those involved and disrupt terror financing networks, stressing that operational details could not be made public for security reasons.

Laka revealed that several arrests and prosecutions had been made in connection with ransom payments and terrorism financing.

He noted that asset recoveries and seizures formed part of Nigeria’s compliance with international anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards.

The NCTC boss listed TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and X as some of the platforms being used by terrorists to publicise operations, display looted items and communicate with supporters.

He disclosed that security agencies have held several 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 said.

He noted that terrorist tactics continue to evolve, including the use of aliases and unverified accounts, adding that security agencies constantly adapt to counter such developments.