DEFENCE MINISTER EXPLAINS HOW TROOPS RESCUE KIDNAP VICTIMS WITHOUT KILLING TERRORISTS

The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), has explained how security forces sometimes rescue abducted victims without arresting or killing the terrorists holding them.

Musa said troops often identify the terrorists’ locations, block their escape routes and cut off their access to food, water, fuel and other essential supplies.

According to him, terrorists sometimes flee their hideouts when security forces approach, leaving their captives behind.

The minister spoke during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, amid public concerns over military operations in which kidnapped victims were rescued without reported arrests or casualties among their captors.

Musa said terrorists also fear for their lives and could scatter when confronted with military manoeuvres or surveillance operations.

He added that security agencies were working to disrupt the supply networks that enable terrorists to survive and operate in remote locations.

The defence minister also said ransom payments could provide useful intelligence for tracing criminal networks, adding that the Central Bank of Nigeria was working to track funds linked to criminal activities.

Musa further urged state governments to reconsider distributing high-capacity motorcycles as palliatives, warning that some could eventually find their way into the hands of terrorists.

According to him, motorcycles provide terrorists with mobility and make it easier for them to move through difficult terrain and escape from security forces.

He also alleged that motorcycles distributed through constituency projects and other intervention programmes could eventually end up in the possession of bandits.