Posted by Chinenye on Fri 04th Sep, 2026 - tori.ng
Nigeria’s security forces are revealing a strategy that is changing how dangerous hostage situations are handled.
(Defence Minister, Christopher Musa. Photo by TVC News)
igeria's Defence Minister, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), has shed light on how security forces manage to free k1dn@pped victims in many operations without engaging in combat or paying ransoms, addressing public questions following recent successful rescues in Kwara State and across the North.
The military's approach, according to Musa, hinges on precision tactics.
Once troops locate where t3rrorists are holding captives, they seal off escape routes and systematically cut off the criminals' access to essentials like food, water and fuel.
This strategy essentially forces the t3rrorists to abandon their hostages and flee when faced with military pressure, even something as simple as a drone deployment.
Musa noted that contrary to their public image, t3rrorists fear d£ath just as much as anyone else.
The moment they encounter credible military force, they typically scatter and disappear, leaving their victims behind unharmed.
This explains why many recent rescue operations succeeded without bloodshed or ransom payments.
The Defence Minister made these remarks during an interview on a current affairs television programme on Thursday.
He explained that the strategy removes the t3rrorists' ability to sustain themselves, making it impossible for them to maintain control over captives once cornered by security operatives.
Musa elaborated further on the military's strategy, explaining that once t3rrorists are identified, security forces essentially cut off their life support by blocking all avenues of movement and supply.
Without access to fuel, water and food, he stressed, the criminals cannot sustain operations.
The issue, he argued, lies with those who secretly provide t3rrorists with these essentials, allowing them to maintain their activities and hold onto captives.
On the financial side, Musa revealed that ransom payments themselves serve as intelligence tools.
The Central Bank of Nigeria is actively tracking funds flowing to criminal networks, enabling authorities to trace money back to t3rrorists' locations and movements.
This financial surveillance, he noted, is proving effective in identifying where criminal money originates and how it circulates.
The Defence Minister issued a stern warning to state governors about distributing motorcycles as relief packages or constituency projects.
Many of these bikes, he cautioned, end up in the hands of b@ndits and t3rrorists, providing them with crucial mobility to launch @tt@cks and escape.
He appealed to governors to either stop the practice entirely or, if they must distribute motorcycles, limit them to small-capacity models that criminals cannot effectively use for rapid movement across territories.
Musa stressed that this single issue the proliferation of motorcycles through government palliatives and development projects significantly undermines security efforts.
The machines give criminal networks the speed and flexibility to conduct operations quickly and vanish before security forces respond, creating an unnecessary tactical advantage for those actively th re@tening communities across the country.