Activate platform for tracking kidnappers, Arase urges police

The Chairman, Police Service Commission, Dr. Solomon Arase, has called on 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 addressing personnel of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre during his working visit to the centre on Thursday in Abuja.

Over the past months, there have series of kidnappings and cybercrime reports nationwide.

The Nigerian Senate has expressed concerns over an annual loss of $500 million to various forms of cybercrime across the country.

It warned that if the national cybersecurity programme was not effectively funded, the gains of the digital economy would be defeated.

Arase said it was a shame for a country to have people demanding ransom with phones without making them face the consequences of crime.

Arase said the platform, used during his tenure as the Inspector-General of Police in 2015, was still available with the Nigeria Police and called for its activation.

“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 said 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 they 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.

Ifeanyi said the invitation of Arase to the centre was to tap from his wealth of 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 go out to arrest suspects. We do our profiling and look at facts, figures, and available evidence before making an arrest.

“The motive of cyber criminals is to make money, so what we do is to work with banks and other financial institutions to get information on their financial flows.

“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.