The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), has explained how security forces sometimes rescue abducted victims without arresting or killing the terrorists holding them.

The clarification comes amid public concern over the persistence of kidnapping for ransom and questions about recent military operations in which troops rescued abducted victims without apprehending or eliminating the terrorists, including operations in Kwara State and other parts of the North.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Musa said the strategy involved identifying the location of terrorists, blocking their escape routes and cutting off their access to food, water, fuel and other supplies needed for survival.

He said terrorists often flee when confronted by security forces, leaving their captives behind.

“Sometimes if you carry out manoeuvres. The funny thing is, the terrorists too don’t want to die. I hope you know that. All this one they’re doing carrying weapons, they don’t want to die. So once there’s anything, even if it’s a drone that comes, you see them scatter away and leave everybody. That’s what happens,” he said.

Musa added, “So what we normally do is once we’re able to identify where they are, we block avenues for them. Like I said, take out the oxygen, they will die.

“So those are the aspects, and that’s why as long as people go to support to sneak in, give them fuel, give them water, give them food, give them all this, these are the things that are making them thrive. Once they don’t have that, they can’t survive.”

The minister also said ransom payments could be used as a means of tracing terrorists, adding that the Central Bank of Nigeria was working to track funds linked to criminal activities.

“I’m happy that the CBN too is living up to expectation, trying to make sure that even if we were able to trace monies that are coming in from those other areas, we can track back where they are,” he said.

Musa urged state governors to reconsider the distribution of motorcycles as palliatives, saying some of the motorcycles could later end up in the hands of terrorists and provide them with mobility.

“We try to appeal to even governors to stop selling motorcycle—giving motorcycles out as palliatives. Because these motorcycles are the same ones that still end up to with these terrorists into using,” he said.

He advised that where motorcycles must be distributed as palliatives, governments should consider providing smaller-capacity motorcycles that would be less useful to terrorists.

“Even if you have to give, don’t give them the big capacity motorcycles, give them the small capacity ones that they will not be… won’t be able to use to run around, because that gives them leverage. They can easily enter and then disappear,” he said.

He further alleged that motorcycles distributed as constituency projects and palliatives could eventually find their way into the hands of bandits.