Experts differ as NSA partners UK anti-crime agency to battle kidnappers

Security experts have expressed differing views on the plan by the office of the National Security Adviser to collaborate with the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency to combat kidnappers.

In recent times, the NSA had been involved in coordinating the activities of security agencies, which has led to the rescue of some kidnapped victims.

The 22 students and staff members of the Federal University of Gusau, Zamfara State, who were kidnapped by bandits on September 22, 2023, were rescued in an operation coordinated by the National Counter-Terrorism Centre on April 15, 2024.

Also, on July 4, 2024, 16 individuals kidnapped from Zurmi, Duran and Gusau in Zamfara State on April 22, 2024, were also rescued in a joint operation coordinated by the NCTC. They were subsequently handed over to the Zamfara State Government.

The Office of the NSA was reported to have also planned and coordinated the operation that led to the rescue of the three children of a Kaduna judge, who were abducted alongside her, on July 10, 2024.

Also, on March 23, 2023, the Army, in collaboration with the ONSA, rescued 17 Tsangaya pupils who had been abducted by bandits in Gada Local Government.

While receiving the 22 students and staff members of the university, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, said over 1,000 such victims had been rescued without paying a ransom.

However, speaking with our correspondent on strategies to strengthen the fight against kidnapping, the NCTC, Office of the NSA, disclosed the plan to establish an Anti-Kidnapping Fusion Cell for effective tracking and arrest of kidnap suspects in the country.

The NCTC also noted that it was working in collaboration with the National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom to implement the initiative.

The Head of Strategic Communication, NCTC, Abu Michael, while speaking with our correspondent, said the initiative would also ensure a proactive approach towards rescuing victims, adding that all security and law enforcement agencies were expected to be part of the new strategy.

He said, “The Anti-Kidnapping Fusion Cell is for effective tracking and arrest of kidnap suspects, and to be proactive.

“It is a multi-agency taskforce involving all the security and enforcement agencies under the coordination of NCTC-ONSA. The fusion cell is in the process of becoming fully operational. NCTC is working in collaboration with the NCA of the UK on this.”

But, some experts who spoke with our correspondent on Saturday disagreed with the NSA’s initiative and its approach to tackling the menace of kidnapping.

NSA playing to the gallery — Expert

Speaking with Sunday According, retired Commodore Adekunle Olawunmi, a former Deputy Director of Defence Administration at the Defence Headquarters, opposed the NSA’s initiative, describing it as a duplication of the functions of already existing agencies.

Olawunmi, a former Commandant of the Defence Intelligence College, said the move showed a lack of direction on the part of the Federal Government in fighting terrorism, kidnapping and other security challenges in the country.

“There is already what we call interoperability of security agencies. The army must be able to synergise with the navy and air force, while defence intelligence agencies should have access to information from the Department of State Services, and the information obtained by the National Intelligence Agency. That the NSA is saying something like this either shows ignorance of these things or is just playing to the gallery.

“We have many organs— the Joint Intelligence Board and the Intelligence Community Committee. All these agencies meet regularly on Mondays and Tuesdays. This reinforces interoperability. DIA, NIA, and DSS operatives all come to these meetings to brief, and with this, everybody now has security awareness of what is happening with each agency. Instructions are given for them to work together.

“There has always been interoperability and synergy. That is why we need to put the right person to govern that space; otherwise, they will be playing to the gallery. Why are they talking about synergy and interoperability when it already exists? There is a fusion centre at the NSA’s office. They spent billions of naira to set up that place.

“Tinubu should have got somebody who knows the job, who has worked in the system, to run the NSA. There is an intelligence fusion centre, there is a combat fusion centre, all under the NSA; there is already interoperability. I don’t know why they are saying they want to establish an Anti-Kidnapping Fusion Centre now,” Olawunmi said.

‘NSA office should be advisory not operational’ 

Also speaking with our correspondent, a security expert, Dr Kabir Adamu, said the NSA was not an operational office but an advisory one set up to coordinate the functions of security agencies. He added that the establishment of an Anti-Kidnapping Fusion Centre by the NSA would go against its mandate.

Adamu, who is the Managing Director of Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited, expressed concern that the centre, when operational, might be used by politicians to deal with perceived opposition elements.

He said, “We need to look at the mandate of the National Counter Terrorism Centre. Its mandate is to coordinate the counter-terrorism strategy being implemented by the government. So, when they now want to take up another role, even though there is an intersection between terrorism and kidnapping, both crimes are very different. The intersection is that kidnapping is used to fund terrorism. But, it is not terrorism; it is a crime. There are provisions of our law that define it for what it is. So, when that office wants to come into that area, I think it is going outside its mandate.

“I am very concerned about the increasing desire of the Office of the National Security Adviser to become operational. According to the National Security Act (2006), that office was set up to coordinate security functions from a quality point of view and to advise the government. It was never envisaged to be an operational office. The more it is operational, the more it will leave that coordinating function.

“The establishment of the Anti-Kidnapping Fusion Centre is clearly operational. Even though it will serve as a fusion centre for all the other security agencies, it will probably have a military squad or a joint task force that will be operational. In other words, it will have the capacity to track and intercept, which are operational functions. Now, the argument may be that it is going to draw from these security organisations and then it will house them, but essentially, that is being operational, and that was never envisaged when the Office of the NSA was set up.”

Adamu noted that the only way to accommodate the desire of the NSA to take up operational roles was to amend the law.

“This cannot work except we want to move in the direction of reviewing the law that established the NSA, which the current National Security Adviser attempted to do immediately after he was sworn in, but it was rejected by the National Assembly. Therefore, if this is an attempt to use the back door to operationalise that office, then we should all be concerned because that was not what the law that set up that office says.

“Yes, we need an anti-kidnap fusion centre, but should it be housed in the Office of the National Security Adviser? I think it is better housed in other operational coordination centres. For example, the DHQ, or even the Inspector General of Police, whose core mandate is to address the issue, could house it, with the policy backing, direction, and support from the Office of the NSA.

“The Office of the NSA has a strong political lineage, and if we operationalise that office, in a few years, especially when elections come and that operational arm starts dealing with opposition elements, Nigerians will be crying. So, the earlier we start opposing that, the better.”

Initiative will combat kidnapping – Expert

However, another security expert, Chigozie Ubani, shared a contrasting view, describing the move by the NSA as a step in the right direction to combat insecurity, particularly kidnapping and terrorism.

Ubani, a private security practitioner and a fellow of the Institute of Security Nigeria, said that if Nigeria was to win the fight against insecurity, the government must collaborate with other countries, especially in the area of intelligence gathering. He added that the establishment of the Anti-Kidnapping Fusion Centre would aid Nigeria’s fight against insecurity.

“With the way we are going and the way our environment is fashioned, we cannot secure our environment without top-notch technology. The world is moving towards Artificial Intelligence enablement, which means we have to brace up too. So, this is a welcome development, and we have to do everything to make sure it works.

“We cannot secure Nigeria without having adequate intelligence from other countries. We must somehow interconnect, and this interconnectivity is what we are already looking at. Let us embrace the initiative. The management team of the initiative would have considered all the options available to them and know to what extent we can protect our country,” Ubani said.

Speaking further, Ubani stressed the need for Nigeria to collaborate with other nations to fight kidnapping and other crimes, noting that abduction crimes have become a global issue.

“Kidnapping is not just a Nigerian phenomenon. There is a global connection, including the transfer of funds received as ransom, including wiring such funds to get arms and ammunition to finance terrorism, kidnapping, and banditry. So, there is a need for us to connect.

“It will be a monitoring and tracking centre where information is collated and monitored, using technology, including wiretapping. That will also keep the security agencies on their toes, because some of them who are accomplices or have been compromised will be exposed at this centre,” he said.

‘Initiative will provide synergy among security agencies’

Also speaking with our correspondent, a security expert, Oladele Fajana, said the initiative would help cement the synergy between security agencies.

He called for the arrest and prosecution of kidnappers, as well as the rescue of kidnapped victims.

Fajana said, “Kidnapping has been on the rise, because there have not been enough measures put in place to curb it. Having a coordinating agency, as the NSA is proposing, will lead to the operational efficiency of our security agencies.

“With this, there won’t be any conflict of interest. This, to me, is a welcome development, and of course, we need more arrests and prosecutions of these kidnappers, as well as rescues.”