There is no gain in disputing the fact that kidnapping has become a blooming business in Nigeria. The economic situation of our beloved country Nigeria is deteriorating daily because of the daily activities of kidnapers. In fact, it is also a lucrative business because of the way the Nigerian Government is approaching the menace. “A kidnapper is a person who abducts someone and holds them captive, typically to obtain a ransom.” “In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will.” On the 7th of January 2024 it was reported that kidnappers abducted 10 people from Sagwari estate layout at Dutse in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
It is very pertinent to ask: If people can be easily kidnapped where the president is residing, are we still safe in this country? It will interest you to know that the kidnappers initially were demanding for #60 million per person, but due to the fact that there demands were not met they killed some of the abductees. By so doing sending strong signals to the families of the abductees.
The kidnappers did not just stop at the killings, now they have increased the ransom to #100 million per person. According to some information, a 13 year old girl Folorunsho Ariyo was among those they were killed.
Is the present government making any effort to tackle the incessant rate of kidnappings? What could be the reason(s) why kidnapping is striving in Nigeria? What are the feasible steps to be taken to bring a lasting solution to kidnapping in Nigeria?
Some of the plausible reasons why kidnapping is striving in Nigeria are:
POVERTY: A popular adage says: ‘a hungry man is an angry man’. When you look at the set of persons that engage in the act of kidnapping, majority of them are: unemployed, poor people, and set of persons that feel that the present government have marginalised them. The terrible state of the present day Nigeria, has made individuals to go about kidnapping, and using kidnapping has a means to earn a living. In most cases, they kidnap people in exchange for monetary rewards.
POROUS NIGERIA BORDERS: The various borders in Nigeria are poorly policed by members of the immigration, customs, and other members of the policing units in Nigeria. The porous nature of these borders have given free access to kidnappers from neighbouring countries the freedom to lay siege on various communities in Nigeria. It could also be the case that some areas that connect Nigeria and other countries are not even known, and if they are not known, these areas cannot be safeguarded.
TRAFFICKING OF ARMS: The rate at which kidnappers make due use of sophisticated weapons to go about their activities is becoming very alarming. The illicit proliferation of arms by kidnapers is as a result of arms trafficking in nation.
The borders are so porous. Individuals who are meant to crosscheck goods going in and out of the country are not performing their activities adequately. Weapons and arms gain access into the country easily.
OVERBURDENED SECURITY FORCE: The security forces that oversee the security of land, properties, and persons in Nigeria operate a ‘federal system’ which does not pay attention to the grassroots of nation. These security forces pay less attention on communities and villages – which are areas in which kidnappers strive. The security forces of the nation are overstretched; the personalities in the security forces are not in proportionate to the land mass of the nation, and to the population. As such, kidnapers can operate with little resistance from the security forces.
In all of the above, the following are feasible efforts the government of Nigeria should take in order to curtail the present menace known as kidnapping. They are:
SECURING NIGERIA BORDERS: One of the prominent areas the present government must pay attention to is securing the Nigeria borders. Firstly, there is an urgent need to survey the land scape of the country. Drones and other technological apparatus can be used to give an adequate result of the land mass and land scape of the nation. Secondly, the various borders of the country should be guided very well, these borders should be mapped out, and well-trained individuals with adequate tools should be placed in various borders.
RESTRUCTURING: There is an urgent need to restructure the way in which we generate revenues in the country. Various states in the nation should be productive. It is high time we stopped depending on the allocation from the federal government to sustain various states in the nation. Various regions and states should be self-sustaining. State governments should make due use of natural and human resources in their domain to create jobs and create wealth for their individual states. By so doing, unemployment and poverty will be eradicated.
DIVERSIFYING SECURITY FORCES IN NIGERIA: With the high rate of insurgencies, terrorism, kidnappings and banditry in the nation, we urgently need regional policing, state policing and community policing. They are to supplement the effort of the federal government in securing the nation. The security forces have been overstretched, we need to diversify. The federal government should be in charge of the federal security forces, the regional state governors should be in charge of the regional policing, the state governors should be in charge of state policing, and, the local government chairmen should be in charge of community policing.
SEEK EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE: Nigeria as a nation is not a country blessed with abundance of technological knowledge about tackling security issues; as such we seriously need to appeal to nations and countries who are experts. The federal government should visit nations like: Israel, USA, Russia, Germany, and others – seek assistance from them. They should assist with technological and human resources to help tackle the present menace.
In sum, our leaders must be true to the reality of the present. Nigeria is in a great danger. All hands must be on deck to ravage the present security issues in Nigeria. We can tackle the security issues in the country if and only if we want to.
Rev. Fr. Victor Ugbor (a priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Ibadan
