The Minister of Defence Christopher Musa (rtd) on Friday described kidnapping in Nigeria as a reflection of declining family values rather than solely a security challenge, saying the growing trend of relatives abducting one another points to a deeper societal crisis.
Musa disclosed this while assessing the security situation under the administration of President Bola Tinubu as the government marks its third year in office.
He noted that the increasing involvement of family members in kidnapping cases showed that the country must look beyond military operations and address moral and social decay within communities.
“We have fathers kidnapping children, children kidnapping each other, and brothers kidnapping sisters. It tells you that something is wrong with the family, and we need to look inward to see how we can develop those aspects,” he said.
His comments on ARISE News come amid renewed concerns over the spate of school abductions across the country.
Between May 13 and 15, 2026, separate attacks in Borno and Oyo states led to the abduction of at least 82 pupils.
From the abduction in the Oyo attack, a mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded, a motorcyclist was killed, and a security operative was confirmed dead after running into improvised explosive devices planted by the abductors during rescue efforts.
The DHQ had linked the Oyo school abduction to terrorists belonging to the JAS group displaced from other regions by ongoing military offensives.
Despite the recent attacks, Musa rated the Tinubu administration between 65 and 70 per cent on security performance, insisting that terrorism had significantly reduced across the country.
The minister argued that while criminality still exists, the scale of terrorist activities has reduced compared to previous years.
“No nation is entirely free of crime. I’m sure you are aware that the level of terrorism across the country has actually drastically reduced. Now we have acts of terrorism, and terrorism, as I said, is a social vice, a failure of family values,” he said.
Musa, however, maintained that security agencies were making progress, noting that kidnappers were largely driven by greed and the desire for quick wealth.
“People need to understand that to make money, you must work very hard. Don’t look for shortcuts. Most of those taking part in kidnappings and related crimes are looking for shortcuts,” he said.
The minister also disclosed that Nigerian forces recently carried out a covert operation that led to the killing of a deputy ISIS commander after months of intelligence gathering and surveillance.
“The recent killing of that deputy ISIS commander was a painstaking operation that began last year. We followed through, ensured we were certain of our target, and when we struck, we got them. That is what we are doing,” Musa said.
He added that security agencies were now receiving increased support and cooperation from Nigerians, which he described as critical to ongoing counter-terrorism operations.
Musa further revealed that Nigeria was strengthening partnerships with countries including the United States, Britain, France, Brazil, and Turkey to improve its counter-terrorism operations and build the capacity of its special forces.
“We are working with our partners, the Americans, the British, the French, all of them want Nigeria to succeed. They are bringing platforms we don’t have, and we are working together,” he said.
The minister warned that allowing terrorism to become deeply rooted could have long-term consequences for any nation, citing Turkey’s decades-long struggle against insurgency as a lesson Nigeria must learn from.
