The NSA made the claim while speaking on the worsening internal security situation, blaming not only criminal gangs but also sections of the population who, according to him, actively collaborate with kidnappers or fabricate kidnapping scenarios for financial gain.
Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA) has raised the alarm over what he described as a disturbing new trend in the country’s kidnapping crisis, alleging that some Nigerians now stage their own abductions to extort ransom from family members.
The NSA made the claim while speaking on the worsening internal security situation, blaming not only criminal gangs but also sections of the population who, according to him, actively collaborate with kidnappers or fabricate kidnapping scenarios for financial gain.
“We are talking about the population informing the kidnappers,” the NSA said. “When we are even having situations whereby people arrange with themselves to kidnap themselves to collect ransom from their families.”
He disclosed that security agencies had uncovered cases where victims were not abducted by criminal syndicates but were instead complicit in the crime, working with friends or acquaintances to deceive relatives.
“I have seen situations whereby a boy arranged with his friends to kidnap him so that his father can pay the ransom,” he added.
More troubling, the NSA said, is the increasing use of technology to perpetrate fake abductions, noting that artificial intelligence tools are now being deployed to clone voices and simulate distress calls.
“Some will even arrange themselves. There are AI tools where you can change your voice. You say you have been kidnapped, ask for ransom, you pay yourself and then you reappear,” he said.
The NSA warned that the trend was undermining genuine security efforts and eroding public trust, especially as families are increasingly unsure whether ransom demands are real or staged.
According to him, community complicity remains a major obstacle in the fight against kidnapping, with insiders allegedly providing intelligence, logistics and cover for criminal operations.
He stressed the need for a societal reorientation, urging Nigerians to take collective responsibility for security rather than aiding criminality.
“I think there is a need for us to resuscitate the population,” the NSA said, calling for renewed public enlightenment, vigilance and cooperation with law enforcement agencies.