Dr. Solomon Arase, the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, has urged the Nigeria Police to turn on its platform for tracking kidnappers and other criminals who use mobile phones to ask for ransom.
Arase made the request while speaking to the personnel of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre during his visit to the centre on Thursday in Abuja.
There have been multiple kidnappings and cybercrime reports nationwide over the past months.
The Nigerian Senate has expressed concern over an annual loss of $500 million to various forms of cybercrime across the country. concerns It cautioned that without effective funding for the national cybersecurity programme, the gains of the digital economy would be lost.
Arase remarked that it was shameful for a country to have people demanding ransom with phones without facing the consequences of the crime.
Arase mentioned that the platform, which was used during his tenure as the Inspector-General of Police in 2015, is still available with the Nigeria Police and called for its activation.
Arase explained, “We established the platform about eight years ago, I understand that they have not been paying the subscription. If you have a platform, you must subscribe to it on a yearly basis. There should be budgetary provision for such subscriptions.
Once we are able to subscribe to it, it will be potent and I expect to see that soon. During my time as the IG, you cannot touch your phone to ask for ransom without being caught,” he said.
The PSC chairman recalled that he used the platform during his tenure to secure the release of a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falaye when he was kidnapped in his farm in Ondo State.
Arase stated that the kidnappers started negotiation within a space of three hours after the kidnap, demanding N5 million ransom.
According to him, they got the money, treated it, and gave it to the negotiators who dropped it at Suleja Junction in Abuja.
He said the kidnappers removed the SIM card from the phone immediately after they picked up the money.
Arase continued, “With the platform in my office, I could see the location of the kidnappers.
The Intelligence Response Team personnel were already around the area but I requested that they follow the criminals without arresting them because I wanted to know their destination.
With the platform, we discovered they were moving towards Minna, so I called our personnel in Minna to create an artificial roadblock after giving them the description of their vehicle.
When the kidnappers were finally intercepted, the driver was told to come down and open his boot where the ransom collected was kept,” he added.
In his remark, the Director of the centre, Mr. Uche Ifeanyi said the NPF-NCC had recorded tremendous successes in its fight against cybercrime.
He mentioned that the invitation of Arase to the centre was to benefit from his experience in delivering effective policing in the country, especially in the area of intelligence.
He said the activities of the centre were intelligence-based especially in its investigation.
"We don't just arrest suspects without doing our profiling and examining facts, figures, and available evidence."
"Cyber criminals aim to make money, so we collaborate with banks and other financial institutions to gather information on their financial transactions."
"After that, we conduct our profiling before pursuing the suspects, and once we apprehend them, it means we are prepared for prosecution," he said.
The Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Dr. Solomon Arase, has urged the Nigeria Police to activate its platform for tracking kidnappers and other criminals who use mobile phones to demand ransom. Arase made the call while speaking to personnel of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre during his visit to the centre on Thursday […]
“After that, we do our profiling before going after the suspects and once we get the suspects, it means we are ready for prosecution,” he said.
NAN
