A former United States Army Captain, Bish Johnson, has alleged that Nigeria’s worsening insecurity has turned into a profitable enterprise for certain individuals and groups.

Johnson made the claim on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, where he spoke on the rising cases of banditry and kidnapping across the country.

According to him, criminal activities such as abductions and armed attacks are no longer isolated acts of violence but organised operations driven by financial motives.

“Banditry and kidnapping have become commercialised enterprises where people are making huge fortunes from the misfortune of others,” Johnson said.

He further alleged that there is complicity from within government structures, insisting that many of the security challenges confronting Nigeria are the result of syndicates involving multiple actors working together for economic gain.

“These security crises are syndicated operations involving many components and elements who are working together for the same purpose — commercial reasons,” he stated.

Johnson also linked the surge in insecurity to illegal mining activities and weak border controls, particularly around Nigeria’s borders with Niger Republic, Chad and northern Cameroon.

According to him, the porous borders have allowed the influx of criminal elements, some of whom are allegedly sponsored by foreign interests.

“I believe that some of the sponsors of these crimes are not necessarily Nigerians. There are foreign sponsors exploiting our vulnerabilities,” he added.