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| UK Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Gill Lever, OBE (4th right); National Coordinator NCTC-ONSA, Maj Gen Adamu Garba Laka (5th Left); Chris Hall, Regional Manager, UK National Crime Agency ((2nd right); Lt. Col Warren Davies, Counter Terrorism Regional Coordinator, British High Commission, Abuja (1st Left); DIG Johnson Kokumo (rtd), DG National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, ONSA (3rd left); Chris Grimson, Operations Manager, UK National Crime Agency (4 left); Director State Liaison, ONSA, Lami Chinada (5th Left) and others, at the official commissioning of the Multi-Agency Anti-Kidnap Fusion Cell at NCTC on Thursday |
In a significant step forward in fight against one of the gravest security challenges like kidnapping, the National Security Adviser, NSA Mallam Nuhu Ribadu has commissioned the Multi-Agency Anti-Kidnap Fusion Cell (MAAKFC) in partnership with the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency stressing that the Nigerian security agencies recorded 80% successes against kidnapping in year 2024.
The commissioning of the Multi-Agency Anti-Kidnap Fusion Cell (MAAKFC), took place today, 16th December 2024 at the National Counter Terrorism Centre in Abuja.
In his remarks, the NSA Mallam Nuhu Ribadu lamented that kidnapping remains one of the most pressing security threats in Nigeria today which has caused untold hardship for countless families, disrupted economic activities, and posed a severe threat to our national stability.
This menace according to him demands a robust, multi-agency approach, which the Multi-Agency Anti-Kidnap Fusion Cell embodies.
He noted that this is a cocktail of proficiency from various Services, security agencies and intelligence community, which has been what NCTC have always advocated for
He urged all the staff of the newly commissioned Multi-Agency Anti-Kidnap Fusion Cell (MAAKFC) to draw from the expertise of each other and rise to the occasion.
"The training and resources you received have prepared you for this critical task, and I expect nothing but professionalism, dedication, and innovation in your work. Embrace synergy, leverage the knowledge you have acquired, and ensure that this Cell fulfills its mission to protect our people and communities.
"The Federal Government recognizes the importance of your work, and I remain committed to providing the resources and backing needed to enable you to succeed"he said
Mallam Ribadu commended the National Coordinator and the dedicated staff of the National Counter Terrorism Centre for their remarkable efforts. "I am immensely proud of the progress you have made so far.
While commissioning the new agency, Mallam Ribadu who emphasized the importance oofintelligence sharing enjoined Nigerians to keep faith with the Tinubu Administration that has shown genuine commitment in tackling issues of insecurity in the country, as he acknowledged the president’s political will that has invigorated morale of the country’ security forces in the war against non-state armed groups for eventual realization of a more available atmosphere for the good people of Nigeria.
In his remark. the NCTC National Coordinator, Major General Laka said in a bid to resolved to fully address security challenges, especially kidnapping, this has led to the set-up of a Multi-Agency Anti-kidnap Fusion Cell.
Reacting to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report, Major General Laka affirmed that Nigerians that paid Ransom to Kidnappers were basically those that didn't report kidnap incidence to the security agencies.
The declaration comes amid the report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that Nigerians paid over N2.2 trillion ransom on kidnapped persons in 2024.
According to the report, 2.2million Nigerians were kidnapped while 614,937 were killed in the same year.
He affirmed that with the commissioning of Multi-Agency Anti-Kidnap Fusion Cell would serve as a “pivotal force in combating the menace of kidnapping by coordinating operational responses, analyzing data to track trends, and building the capacity of security personnel.”
Laka said that between 2022 and 2024, the United Kingdom, through the National Crime Agency (NCA) has partnered with the office of the National Security Adviser to provide capacity-building exercises as well as support to the NCTC for it to set up a kidnap fusion centre.
He said the outcome of the partnership culminated in the establishment of the cell with over 15 law enforcement agencies and stakeholders working together to fight kidnapping in the country.
Also in his remarks, the UK Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Gill Lever noted that Kidnap is something that affects every single Nigerian, directly or indirectly. The whole concept of the Multi-Agency Anti-Kidnap Fusion Cell (MAAKFC) was agreed with the National Security Advisor of Nigeria, Mr. Nkrumah Vardu, and the National Security Advisor of the UK in 2022.
"Since that time, we have worked tirelessly, the NCA with the National Security Advisor and all of the security services within Nigeria and the Ministry of Justice to realise what we are now looking at today. But what I will say is, this is not the end of our involvement. It's not the end of the road.
"We need to work with all the states to make this happen. And the last thing I want to say is, we coined a phrase when we started this as in a whole of society approach. One of the biggest factors to the success of (1:49) this is the buy-in from the public.
"We need to raise public awareness. We have been doing that through our strategic communications strategy through the last two years. But we need to build on that further. We need the public to buy into this. We need the public support to make this a success. It is not just down to the security services." he added
The Operations Manager of the National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom, Chris Crimsom, said the Multi-Agency Anti-Kidnap Fusion Cell requires the support of all Nigerians to succeed.
“With the buying-in of the public, with time we will see the results of what we do,” he said.
The Anti-kidnap MultiAgency Fusion Cell was first discussed in 2022 during the Security and Defence Partnership Dialogue between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, and this yielded a MultiAgency Strategic Framework. With this, it is hoped that the activities of bandits/kidnappers in the country will be brought to a minimal.