The Federal Government has raised the alarm over the increasing use of Point of Sale (PoS) platforms and social media by terrorists to evade detection and finance their activities across the country.
The Director-General of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Major-General Adamu Laka, disclosed this on Tuesday, December 23, during the Centre’s 2025 end-of-the-year press briefing held at its headquarters in Abuja.
According to Laka, ransom payments remain a major source of funding for terrorist groups, with PoS operators increasingly being exploited as intermediaries to move illicit funds.
“In many cases, ransom payments are transferred to accounts belonging to PoS operators, who then release the cash to the kidnappers, making it difficult to trace such transactions,” he explained.
Laka said investigations often reveal that accounts receiving suspicious transfers belong to PoS operators rather than the perpetrators themselves.
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“You see a transfer made by terrorists, and when you investigate the account, it belongs to a PoS operator. The kidnappers give out the PoS operator’s number, the money is transferred, and they go to collect it,” he said.
The NCTC boss noted that Nigerian security agencies have intensified efforts to track ransom payments, arrest those involved and dismantle terror financing networks, although operational details could not be disclosed for security reasons.
He revealed that several arrests and prosecutions had already been carried out in connection with ransom payments and terrorism financing, adding that asset recoveries and seizures formed part of Nigeria’s obligations under international anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing frameworks.
Beyond financial channels, Laka disclosed that terrorists and criminal groups are increasingly leveraging social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and X to publicise their operations, display looted items, communicate with supporters and raise funds.
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He said security agencies are working closely with major social media companies to identify and take down accounts and posts that threaten national security.
“These platforms are businesses and are interested in growing their user base, but we engage them and explain the implications of certain posts on national security, and we take them down,” Laka said.
The senior military officer added that terrorist tactics continue to evolve, including the use of aliases and unverified accounts, stressing that security agencies are constantly adapting strategies to counter emerging threats.
He reassured Nigerians of the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening counter-terrorism efforts and cutting off funding channels used by terrorists and criminal networks nationwide.