Kidnapped victims can sometimes be recovered without a firefight because terrorists flee their hideouts once they realise that troops have closed in, Defence Minister Christopher Musa has said.

Musa explained that military operations are not always designed around direct assaults, noting that security forces can deploy manoeuvres that isolate criminal camps and leave their occupants with little option but to escape. He spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today amid questions over hostage rescues in which no reported casualties were recorded among the captors.

According to the minister, terrorists are often unwilling to risk their lives when confronted with superior military capability. He said the arrival of assets such as drones could trigger panic within camps, causing abductors to scatter and abandon the people they are holding.

He added that troops also target the support systems that keep terrorist groups operational. By restricting access to food, water, fuel and other supplies, security forces can weaken the camps without necessarily putting hostages in the crossfire.

Musa said the military was equally paying attention to the financial infrastructure behind kidnapping and other criminal operations. He explained that tracing ransom-related transactions could provide investigators with valuable information for identifying and dismantling wider criminal networks.

The minister further disclosed that the Central Bank of Nigeria was working to strengthen the tracking of suspicious financial flows. He said following the movement of illicit funds could help security agencies work backwards to the individuals and networks facilitating terrorism and kidnapping.