Nigerians Sending Account to Terrorists consider Accomplices

Security expert Dickson Osagie warned on Tuesday,  June 9, 2026, that Nigerians who send bank account numbers to terrorist or criminal organisations demanding ransom could face arrest and prosecution as accomplices under Nigerian anti-terrorism and money laundering laws, even if they were acting out of desperation to secure the release of a loved one.

Osagie, speaking on Channels Television, said the legal exposure was real and significant, noting that financial facilitation of a terrorist act, including the transfer of funds that enable kidnappers or terrorists to continue operations, constituted a criminal offence under Nigeria’s Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act. He said many Nigerians were unaware of the legal risk they were taking when they sent account numbers or made payments in response to ransom demands.

‘Any Nigerian who sends their account number to a terrorist organisation for the purpose of facilitating ransom payments can be arrested and charged as an accomplice,’ Osagie stated, adding that the law did not distinguish between willing collaborators and desperate family members who believed they had no other option.

Warning Comes Amid Wave of Kidnappings

The warning carries heightened urgency against the backdrop of a nationwide kidnapping crisis that has seen dozens of students, teachers, civil servants, and ordinary citizens abducted across multiple states in 2026. Families of abduction victims are frequently placed in agonising situations where they receive ransom demands with tight deadlines, and many feel that paying is the only realistic chance of securing a loved one’s return.

However, security analysts and law enforcement officials have consistently maintained that ransom payments sustain and incentivise criminal networks, funding further abductions and emboldening criminal gangs. Furthermore, the government has not established a clear, formal protocol for families facing ransom demands, leaving many without guidance on what to do that is both legally safe and practically effective.

Still, Osagie acknowledged the moral difficulty of the situation, saying that the law needed to be applied with sensitivity to the circumstances of families under duress. He called on the government to establish official channels through which families could receive authorised guidance and negotiation support without exposing themselves to criminal liability. Notably, the Boko Haram group that held 416 victims in the Mandara Mountains had previously issued a N5 billion ransom demand. Meanwhile, Channels Television reported that the terrorist group behind the Askira Uba school abduction had also made contact with authorities regarding the 42 Borno children still in captivity. Consequently, the ransom facilitation warning is a timely reminder that the legal and ethical dimensions of Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis extend well beyond the security agencies actively pursuing perpetrators.

EFCC Targets Ransom Payment Networks

In addition, the EFCC said it was tracking financial networks used by kidnapping gangs to collect ransom payments, including mobile money platforms, hawala networks, and cryptocurrency channels. The commission said it had made progress in mapping the financial flows connected to several high-profile abduction cases in 2026. As a result, the full apparatus of Nigeria’s financial crime enforcement machinery is now engaged in the fight against kidnapping, going beyond physical security to disrupt the economic model that makes abduction profitable.