The increasing use of Point-of-Sale terminals by kidnappers to collect ransom marks a dangerous evolution of Nigeria’s security crisis that has reached a disturbing technological frontier. The development, as reported officially, constitutes a direct infiltration of the country’s financial system and needs to be urgently addressed as part of a holistic measure to end the thriving menace of abduction. Initially, kidnapping for ransom involved bagfuls of cash ordered to be dropped in remote areas, especially in forests. Today, it affects the business-like efficiency of Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminals.

Recent reports from the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) and security analysts highlight a brazen trend: terrorists and bandits are now utilising PoS machines to collect ransom payments, effectively turning the nation’s financial inclusion tools into instruments of terror.

The Director-General of NCTC, Major-General Adamu Laka, lamented that ransom payments remained a major source of terror financing, with PoS operators increasingly exploited to move the funds. He explained that in many cases, ransom payments were transferred to accounts belonging to PoS operators, who then released the cash to kidnappers, making tracking of such money more difficult.

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

Checks showed that as of March 2025, data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) indicates that registered PoS terminals numbered 8.3 million, of which 5.9 million have been active in the country.

To show how deep this kidnapping menace has festered in the country, a report by SBM Intelligence revealed that kidnappers collected at least N2.57 billion as ransom from their victims between July 2024 and June 2025 through various means.

The report, titled “The Year Ahead at an Inflexion Point”, which was released last December, analysed key economic and political developments shaping Africa in 2025 and found that kidnappers demanded an estimated N48 billion in ransom during the 12 months, though only a fraction of that amount was ultimately paid.

The report said the figures showed that abductions in Nigeria have evolved into a structured, profit-driven enterprise, thriving amid weak governance, vast unpoliced rural spaces and worsening security conditions across several regions.

According to it, at least 4,722 people were abducted across 997 kidnapping incidents during the period under review, while no fewer than 762 people were killed in attacks linked to banditry and related violence. Kidnapped victims’ families and friends have had to cough up these monies by all means possible, and funds have passed through different channels, including PoS, to get to these criminals.

For a fact, the situation has reached a crescendo and it urgently requires all collaborative efforts to tackle the menace.

As it is, the Federal Government must recognise that this is no longer just a security lapse but a direct infiltration of the country’s financial system. It is time to move beyond reactionary statements and permanently nip this menace in the bud.

The explosion of PoS agents was intended to bring banking to the unbanked. Instead, the lack of stringent oversight appeared to have created a shadow banking sector that criminals exploit with ease. Terrorists no longer need to risk moving large volumes of physical cash; they can now leverage complicit agents or operate stolen and unregistered terminals to bring ransom money into the digital ecosystem.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) have recently introduced mandatory registration for PoS operators and geo-tagging. While these are commendable steps, the current pace of enforcement appears too slow and inadequate for a country under the siege of daily abductions.

Based on the urgency of the matter, the Federal Government should move beyond the rhetoric and act decisively.

To effectively dismantle this infrastructure, the government must act, among others, by ensuring there is aggressive real-time monitoring. This means that the CBN’s mandate for geo-tagging and the use of the ISO 20022 messaging standard must be enforced with military precision. Any PoS terminal operating more than 10 meters outside its registered location should be automatically deactivated. Security agencies must have real-time access to these location pings to track the movement of terrorists in the field.

Secondly, there must be accountability for fintechs and banks. The super-agents and financial institutions that distribute these machines cannot be allowed to play the innocent bystander. There must be heavy sanctions, including the revocation of licences, especially for any platform whose terminals are repeatedly linked to ransom transactions. If a fintech company cannot account for the location and user of its hardware, it should not be allowed to operate.

Thirdly, there must be intelligence-led policing. The Nigerian Police Force’s ban on PoS machines within police facilities was a start, but the focus must shift to the rural-urban fringes where bandits operate. There is a need for a specialised Financial Intelligence Strike Team that bridges the gap between the NIBSS and kinetic military operations.

Painfully, this act would weigh heavily on Nigeria’s financial inclusion. Today, financial inclusion relies heavily on the psychological shift from cash to digital. When PoS terminals, symbols of modern convenience, become associated with kidnapping and the business of criminal violence, rural and vulnerable populations lose trust in the technology. Instead of adopting digital wallets, people revert to physical cash to avoid leaving a digital trail that could be exploited or monitored by criminal networks.

Nigeria cannot afford to let its digital economy become a playground for those who wish to destroy it. Allowing terrorists to use PoS machines is a slap in the face of every law-abiding citizen and a mockery of the Cashless Policy. The Federal Government must understand that traceability is the enemy of insurgency. By locking down the PoS ecosystem, the government can starve these criminal groups of their most vital resource: the ability to move and use their ill-acquired wealth. The window for action is closing; the time to act is now.