THE REIGN OF VIOLENT KIDNAPPERS

Security agencies must do more to contain this criminal business

Gradually, kidnapping for ransom has assumed anarchic proportions in the country as no day passes without reports of one gory incident or another. The kidnappers have no regard for age, class or personality as what matters to them is the perceived ransom value of their victims. To compound the challenge, even families of senior police and military personnel (retired and serving) now pay ransom to kidnappers. In one of the most recent cases, military colleagues of a retired army General created a WhatsApp group to raise donations for ransom to the kidnappers.

Kidnappings, killings and loss of materials and man-hours have become recurrent features of most of the highways. Indeed, a drive through many of the nation’s major roads is now a nightmare as many spots have become convenient operating centres for kidnappers who lay siege to unsuspecting motorists and other road users. A large country that depends mainly on road transportation for the movement of commodities and persons seems to have surrendered the sector to the tyranny of some unconscionable individuals.

In two separate incidents at different locations during the week, all occupants of 18-seater buses were kidnapped and marched into the bush in Kogi and Imo States. The vehicles were waylaid on the road with the driver of the Imo vehicle killed. That has been a recurring story. From the North to the South, it is evident that what started in the creeks of the Niger Delta about two decades ago as protest for improved conditions in the oil prospecting areas has now turned into a lucrative industry for sundry criminal cartels. Sadly, the crime is no longer restricted to the highways. In countless incidents, some have been kidnapped in the comfort of their homes. But it does not appear that the security agencies have any answer to this increasing and ever-present danger.

For now, most Nigerians are awaiting the response of relevant authorities to a recent claim by one of the victims who was abducted from the 28 March 2022 violent kidnappings of passengers on the Abuja-Kaduna train. No fewer than ten people lost their lives and several families paid ransom in hundreds of millions of Naira before their loved ones could regain freedom. “He told me he has repented and left terrorism behind. He now works as a motorcycle (Okada) rider,” one of the survivors said last week while recounting details of how he met one of the kidnappers inside a mosque in Kaduna State. “After a lengthy conversation with him, I learned that some of the kidnappers have been killed, while others have continued with their acts of terror.”

That is a good lead if the authorities are serious about dealing with the menace, but there has been no report of any follow-up or that the ‘repentant’ kidnapper has been arrested. Meanwhile, it is a sad irony that Nigerians can no longer move around freely or even spend quality time with their family without the psychological fear of a kidnapper lurking around the corner. The effect of all this is that while citizens live in perpetual fear, investors are taking their businesses elsewhere. Either way, the country is the loser.

When this whole madness started, the targets were rich businessmen, politicians, and other well-heeled professionals. But kidnappers have since come to the lower bracket. So prevalent is the crime that the African Insurance Organisation (AIO) once designated Nigeria as the global capital for kidnap for ransom, having overtaken countries like Colombia and Mexico that were hitherto front-runners. The crime has also become a thriving industry with a network of support staff. There are now reports of medical doctors and other professionals being part of the criminal ring. Incessant kidnappings have also made subsistence agriculture difficult for rural dwellers with dire implications for their livelihoods. 

Even though there is a subsisting law in many states that prescribes death penalty for the crime, that has not deterred kidnappers from carrying out their nefarious activities. From security personnel to traditional rulers, school pupils and ordinary citizens, nobody is safe in the hands of these marauders. While reliable statistics may not be available, hundreds of victims (maybe thousands) are currently held by kidnappers in many forest reserves and other places across the country. The federal government must demonstrate the capacity to deal with this menace.