{"id":101041,"date":"2026-06-05T19:24:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tv.guardian.ng\/?p=101041"},"modified":"2026-10-21T10:00:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T10:00:29","slug":"the-ransom-game-must-end-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guardian.ng\/tv\/the-ransom-game-must-end-now\/","title":{"rendered":"The ransom game must end now"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"dailymotion-player\"><script src=\"https:\/\/geo.dailymotion.com\/player\/x1ee8e.js\" data-video=\"xadhzyy\"><\/script><\/div><br><br><p>\nIs paying ransom to bandits fueling terrorism? This crucial issue demands our attention as kidnapping for ransom escalates, with social media showcasing ill-gotten gains. The current approach, characterized by leniency and a focus on political power, proves ineffective in deterring these criminal activities.<\/p>\n<p>The spread of banditry, particularly among groups with no other means of livelihood, is a grave concern. Recruitment from unstable regions, coupled with the spillover of weapons from conflicts like those in Libya and Sudan, creates a dangerous environment. This influx of resources allows criminal elements to operate with alarming boldness.<\/p>\n<p>Nigerian authorities are urged to reconsider their &#8220;kid glove&#8221; approach. Without decisive action and genuine consequences, the cycle of ransom payments will persist, empowering criminals and endangering lives. It&#8217;s time to break this destructive pattern.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is paying ransom to bandits fueling terrorism? This crucial issue demands our attention as kidnapping for ransom escalates, with social media showcasing ill-gotten gains. The current approach, characterized by leniency and a focus on political power, proves ineffective in deterring these criminal activities. The spread of banditry, particularly among groups with no other means of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101043,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gam_disable_ads":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1076,37964],"tags":[2597,691,33208,2141,2087],"class_list":["post-101041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-top-video","tag-banditry","tag-nigeria","tag-ransom","tag-security","tag-terrorism"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The ransom game must end now - GuardianTV<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is paying ransom to bandits fueling terrorism? This crucial issue demands our attention as kidnapping for ransom escalates, with social media showcasing ill-gotten gains.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/guardian.ng\/tv\/the-ransom-game-must-end-now\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The ransom game must end now - GuardianTV\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Is paying ransom to bandits fueling terrorism? This crucial issue demands our attention as kidnapping for ransom escalates, with social media showcasing ill-gotten gains.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/guardian.ng\/tv\/the-ransom-game-must-end-now\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GuardianTV\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-05T19:24:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-21T10:00:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/tv.guardian.ng\/2026\/06\/KLLW290.jpg.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1214\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2160\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Abiodun Ogundairo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Abiodun Ogundairo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/the-ransom-game-must-end-now\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/the-ransom-game-must-end-now\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Abiodun Ogundairo\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7ea396ab9bae73d4845496dbad885f1\"},\"headline\":\"The ransom game must end now\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-05T19:24:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-21T10:00:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/the-ransom-game-must-end-now\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":140,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/the-ransom-game-must-end-now\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gtvcdn.guardian.ng\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/KLLW290.jpg.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"Banditry\",\"Nigeria\",\"ransom\",\"Security\",\"Terrorism\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Top Video\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/the-ransom-game-must-end-now\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/the-ransom-game-must-end-now\\\/\",\"name\":\"The ransom game must end now - GuardianTV\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/the-ransom-game-must-end-now\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/the-ransom-game-must-end-now\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gtvcdn.guardian.ng\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/KLLW290.jpg.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-05T19:24:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-21T10:00:29+00:00\",\"description\":\"Is paying ransom to bandits fueling terrorism? 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