The Ondo State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Oluyemi Joshua, during an interview with The Nation has said that local collaborators often play a significant role in kidnapping operations by providing vital information and support to criminal gangs.
According to The Nation, he disclosed that some of the suspected kidnappers apprehended by security agencies had openly confessed during interrogation that they received intelligence, logistics and other forms of assistance from local collaborators before carrying out their operations.
According to him, the problem is not peculiar to Ondo State, noting that similar patterns have been recorded in other parts of the country, including Kogi, Edo and states in the North-East.
He explained that criminal groups often depend on local sympathisers and informants who provide them with intelligence, logistical support and other assistance needed to execute their operations.
Joshua stressed that criminals do not simply enter a community and successfully carry out kidnapping or other criminal activities without receiving some level of cooperation or support from people within the area.
He added that security agencies were aware of the challenge and continued to intensify intelligence gathering and other measures aimed at identifying and dismantling such local support networks.
Further talking, he said, “In fact, let me mention a case involving the arrest of a suspected kidnapper and an individual engaged in the cultivation of Indian hemp. During interrogation, it was discovered that the Indian hemp cultivator was serving as an informant for the kidnappers.
“Many of these kidnappers operate deep within forest areas and move through farms and remote settlements. Individuals who cultivate marijuana and other illicit crops in such locations are often familiar with movements within the forests.”
Joshua said intelligence gathered by security agencies had uncovered cases where individuals within communities provided logistical support to kidnappers operating in forest hideouts.
He explained that, without revealing operational details, intelligence reports in one particular case showed that an individual regularly supplied food and other essential items to a group of kidnappers hiding in a forest.
According to him, such collaborators serve as logisticians by providing fuel for motorcycles, food, narcotics and other materials needed by the criminal groups.
He noted that kidnappers cannot remain in forest camps for long without external support because they rely on people to buy supplies from markets, transport the items to their hideouts and relay useful information.
Joshua added that security agencies had identified and arrested some of these collaborators during their operations.