Rotimi Ige, in this report,
examines Nigerians safety, as regards the prevalent kidnappings in the country.
AUGUST 31, 2012 will, forever, remain indelible in the memory of
Mrs Johnson Akinsanjo following the circumstances that resulted in the death of
her husband, thereby plunging her into an unprepared status of widowhood.
Her late husband, Johnson, 47, a popular fishing businessman in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, had gone to pick his wife at the Ibeshe Jetty where she oversees a section of the family business, without knowing that tragedy was ahead of him.
As the couple was about entering their compound, three men armed with guns and cutlasses, attacked them and ordered them to go into their apartment, from where they dispossessed them of cash, phones, laptops and other valuables. Time was 9 p.m.
Apparently not satisfied with their loot, the armed men took Johnson outside, ordered him into his Sports Utility Vehicle with number plate KRD 480 AE, and zoomed off to an unknown destination, leaving his distraught wife behind. She immediately reported the case at Ipakodo Police Station, from where a search was conducted round without any sight of the man. But only his car was recovered.
Just as the policemen were contemplating on the next move, Mrs Akinsanjo received a phone call where the strange caller requested for a ransom of N2 million before her husband would be released. The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umaru Manko, directed a crack team of detectives attached to the State Intelligence Bureau to carry out a thorough and discreet investigation led by Inspector Bright Igbinoba. The team reportedly swung into action and, using the communication network, succeeded in tracking them down after extending their investigations to Auchi, Benin-city in Edo State and Sagamu in Ogun State.
It was after their arrest that the suspects confessed that they killed their victim before even demanding for ransom. One of the suspects, Wahab Mutaru, gave a mind-boggling account of how the businessman was killed in a thick bush behind Redemption Camp in Ogun State. The 32 year-old man who hails from Edo State also confessed to have given details of the deceased to members of his gang, blaming his criminality on his desperate need to get money to pay his rent.
Kidnapping in Nigeria, in recent times, has become more prevalent just as the perpetrators of the act are becoming more daring. A criminal act, which first attracted national attention in 2006 when Niger Delta militants kidnapped foreign oil workers to press home their demand, kidnapping has since become ubiquitous and commercialised. It has spread from the Niger Delta to virtually all nooks and crannies of the country. Those behind the recent wave of the despicable act have also changed from being exclusively Niger Delta militants to dodgy elements from different walks of life, armed robbers, unemployed, professional fraudsters and even religious bigots.
There is no doubt that Nigeria is today one of the major kidnapping capitals of the world. This has obvious implications for investments, the country’s development trajectory and even the quality of governance. Similarly, victims have changed from being predominantly foreign oil workers to Nigerians, including parents, grandparents, footballers and toddlers and about anyone who has a relative that could be blackmailed into coughing out a ransom. Recently, Nigerian international midfielder and Leece player, Christian Obodo, was kidnapped. However, the Nigerian Police rescued Obodo without the payment of a ransom demanded by his abductors.
That was not the first time a footballer would be kidnapped in Nigeria.
International defender, Onyekachi Apam, was kidnapped by armed men who took his car before releasing him.
Nornu Yobo, elder brother of Everton defender Joseph, was famously kidnapped in 2008 in oil-rich Port Harcourt.
Nornu was released after 10 days but it was never made clear whether a ransom was paid.
Last year, in August precisely, the father of Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi was also seized in Jos. Nigerian Police, however, rescued Michael Obi senior from his abductors days later.
Also, traditional rulers have been kidnapped.
Gunmen recently kidnapped Robert Chukwudilim Eze, the traditional ruler of Ukpo community in Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Eze, who is also a relation to Chief Arthur Eze, a business magnate, was abducted around 11.20 a.m. in his palace, after attending a church service at St. Mary’s Anglican Church, Upko. He was later released.
Again, after spending nine days in captivity, the traditional ruler of Okordia Kingdom in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, King Richard Seiba, who was abducted by unknown gunmen, breathed the air of freedom after he was rescued from his kidnappers.
Her late husband, Johnson, 47, a popular fishing businessman in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, had gone to pick his wife at the Ibeshe Jetty where she oversees a section of the family business, without knowing that tragedy was ahead of him.
As the couple was about entering their compound, three men armed with guns and cutlasses, attacked them and ordered them to go into their apartment, from where they dispossessed them of cash, phones, laptops and other valuables. Time was 9 p.m.
Apparently not satisfied with their loot, the armed men took Johnson outside, ordered him into his Sports Utility Vehicle with number plate KRD 480 AE, and zoomed off to an unknown destination, leaving his distraught wife behind. She immediately reported the case at Ipakodo Police Station, from where a search was conducted round without any sight of the man. But only his car was recovered.
Just as the policemen were contemplating on the next move, Mrs Akinsanjo received a phone call where the strange caller requested for a ransom of N2 million before her husband would be released. The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umaru Manko, directed a crack team of detectives attached to the State Intelligence Bureau to carry out a thorough and discreet investigation led by Inspector Bright Igbinoba. The team reportedly swung into action and, using the communication network, succeeded in tracking them down after extending their investigations to Auchi, Benin-city in Edo State and Sagamu in Ogun State.
It was after their arrest that the suspects confessed that they killed their victim before even demanding for ransom. One of the suspects, Wahab Mutaru, gave a mind-boggling account of how the businessman was killed in a thick bush behind Redemption Camp in Ogun State. The 32 year-old man who hails from Edo State also confessed to have given details of the deceased to members of his gang, blaming his criminality on his desperate need to get money to pay his rent.
Kidnapping in Nigeria, in recent times, has become more prevalent just as the perpetrators of the act are becoming more daring. A criminal act, which first attracted national attention in 2006 when Niger Delta militants kidnapped foreign oil workers to press home their demand, kidnapping has since become ubiquitous and commercialised. It has spread from the Niger Delta to virtually all nooks and crannies of the country. Those behind the recent wave of the despicable act have also changed from being exclusively Niger Delta militants to dodgy elements from different walks of life, armed robbers, unemployed, professional fraudsters and even religious bigots.
There is no doubt that Nigeria is today one of the major kidnapping capitals of the world. This has obvious implications for investments, the country’s development trajectory and even the quality of governance. Similarly, victims have changed from being predominantly foreign oil workers to Nigerians, including parents, grandparents, footballers and toddlers and about anyone who has a relative that could be blackmailed into coughing out a ransom. Recently, Nigerian international midfielder and Leece player, Christian Obodo, was kidnapped. However, the Nigerian Police rescued Obodo without the payment of a ransom demanded by his abductors.
That was not the first time a footballer would be kidnapped in Nigeria.
International defender, Onyekachi Apam, was kidnapped by armed men who took his car before releasing him.
Nornu Yobo, elder brother of Everton defender Joseph, was famously kidnapped in 2008 in oil-rich Port Harcourt.
Nornu was released after 10 days but it was never made clear whether a ransom was paid.
Last year, in August precisely, the father of Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi was also seized in Jos. Nigerian Police, however, rescued Michael Obi senior from his abductors days later.
Also, traditional rulers have been kidnapped.
Gunmen recently kidnapped Robert Chukwudilim Eze, the traditional ruler of Ukpo community in Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Eze, who is also a relation to Chief Arthur Eze, a business magnate, was abducted around 11.20 a.m. in his palace, after attending a church service at St. Mary’s Anglican Church, Upko. He was later released.
Again, after spending nine days in captivity, the traditional ruler of Okordia Kingdom in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, King Richard Seiba, who was abducted by unknown gunmen, breathed the air of freedom after he was rescued from his kidnappers.
Kidnap victims
The list of kidnapped people
keeps growing daily and a lot of questions have been raised as regards the
reasons behind the seeming air of freedom and reckless abandon with which the
kidnappers operate. While some critics point fingers to the laxity in the security
frame work in the country, others blame the government for its failure to
provide jobs and employment for the youths of the nation who constitute the
majority of kidnappers. Some also blame politicians and people in the corridors
of power for sponsoring some of the kidnapping. Unemployment
According to Awogbenle and Iwuamadi (2010) in a paper titled Youth Unemployment and Implications for Stability of Democracy in Nigeria, statistics from the Manpower Board and the Federal Bureau of Statistics show that there are about 80 million Nigerian youths, representing 60 per cent of the total population of the country. Also, 64 million of them are unemployed, while 1.6 million are under-employed.
The Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, noted recently that Nigeria's unemployment rate stands at 11 per cent yearly. Adesina, who expressed concern at the situation, put youth employment rate at over 50 per cent.
“Our unemployment rate is spiralling, driven by the wave of four million young people entering the workforce every year, with only a small fraction able to find formal employment," he said.
Emmanuel Onwubiko and Nneka Okonkwo of the Human Rights Writers' Association of Nigeria, in their report on youth unemployment and restiveness, stressed that the high rate of youth unemployment in Nigeria gave cause for concern. "Every year, thousands of graduates leave tertiary institutions with no prospects of getting jobs. The government agencies concerned with employment have failed to formulate and implement policies that will provide jobs for the large army of unemployed Nigerians. The federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity has failed to sufficiently galvanise the talents and high energy levels of young Nigerian graduates.
“The streets are littered with young hawkers who would have found gainful employment as self-employed persons. Teenage female street traders are constantly faced with the threat of sexual molestation by depraved adults while the Nigerian government is too weak to take proactive measures to protect them. The large number of unemployed youths is capable of undermining democracy in the country as they are a ready pool for deployment by criminals and politicians. We need to recall the role played by restive youths in the oil-rich Niger Delta prior to the Federal Government's declaration of amnesty. It is also public knowledge how religious extremists in Northern Nigeria have been using youths for their violent campaign", they wrote.
Given the lack of sufficient employment in the formal sector, young people may be compelled to engage in casual work and other unorthodox means of livelihood.
The rising tide of unemployment and the fear of a bleak future among Nigerian youths have made them vulnerable to the manipulations of criminals. This can be seen in the increasing cases of violent crime such as kidnapping, targeted/hired assassinations as well as drug/human trafficking.
Weak security system
Many have blamed the security apparatuses in the country for their seeming lack of commitment to duty, which has encouraged the upsurge of crime in most parts of the nation, in recent times. According to Mr Samuel Okwonkwo, a lawyer, the ineffectiveness of the Nigerian Police is responsible for the boldness exhibited by criminals who now operate anytime they so choose in any part of the country.
He said, "No one is safe. We are all living in fear of the unknown. Criminals roam the streets freely nowadays. Robbers operate in broad daylight and kidnappers have a field day monitoring and abducting their targets. It is so pathetic that the security agencies do not yet have any ways to checkmate all these. The wave of kidnapping across the country is worrisome. The government and the Inspector General of Police must re-group and task themselves".
While some are calling for a state controlled police force, others stress that everyone in the society must be held responsible for his or her safety.
Mrs Alice Adekanye, a retiree, stressed that the flambouyant lifestyle of many Nigerians was partly responsible for the rampant cases of kidnapping in the country, adding that if one lived modestly, such a person would not attract attention.
"When you look around, especially at events, you see people put on heavy jewellery or drive flashy cars etc. Some houses in my area are so big that you would think it was the abode of the governor or president. Such lifestyle attracts criminals' attention and you'll find out that most of those kidnapped are mostly rich or those thought to be rich, except if it was a kidnapping meant to settle a score. We must not blame the police entirely, because we must also protect ourselves", she said.
Also, the call by Governor Peter Obi of Anambra state that he would hold traditional rulers in the state in whose domain kidnapping takes place culpable, according to social critics, appears misplaced. They argue that traditional rulers, especially in the South-Eastern states, only have ornamental value and should therefore not be expected to be the chief security officers of their kingdoms. They were not paid security agents of the state, and should therefore not be expected to play the role of moles, which was never part of the duties of traditional rulers.
Political kidnappings
There have also been cases where kidnapping have been used as a means to settle scores between parties. Politicians, businessmen etc have been known to sponsor kidnappings, so as to instil fear in their opponents or to kill them. In Delta and Bayelsa States, politicians are always wary of themselves and they are normally seen in the company of heavily armed escorts, because of the fear of kidnapping. In Edo State recently, an aide to the governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, was kidnapped. Also, in September, in Bauchi State, the in-law to Governor Isa Yuguda, Mohammed Sade, was kidnapped. Sade was the chairman of the body in charge of fertilizer distribution in the state. No ransom demands were made. In the South-South, militants had, at one time, resorted to kidnapping politicians and top business executives’ wives in order to protest the non-payment of their amnesty claims. This wave of politically motivated abductions had further spiralled into senseless killings of the victims, if they (the victims) failed to come up with the demanded amounts. Till date, not much had been done to curtail their activities or apprehend the kidnappers
Solution
There was a sigh of relief by Nigerians when the proposal that kidnapping should attract capital punishment was passed by the National Assembly.
The Federal House of Representatives had okayed the bill which instituted death for anyone caught in the act of kidnapping.
The Federal Government had, in recent times, re-equipped the Nigerian Police with modern communication gadgets and vehicles in order to boost the efficiency of the force. This had also been adopted my many states in the federation as the state governors in mostly eastern states had endorsed a death penalty for kidnappers. While critics continue to call on security agencies to devise new strategies to combat criminal activities of kidnappers and other vices, there have also been calls for politicians to eschew political violence, while encouraging the Federal Government to provide employment for youths, for example, vocational centres, so that idle youths could be taken off the streets.
According to Awogbenle and Iwuamadi (2010) in a paper titled Youth Unemployment and Implications for Stability of Democracy in Nigeria, statistics from the Manpower Board and the Federal Bureau of Statistics show that there are about 80 million Nigerian youths, representing 60 per cent of the total population of the country. Also, 64 million of them are unemployed, while 1.6 million are under-employed.
The Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, noted recently that Nigeria's unemployment rate stands at 11 per cent yearly. Adesina, who expressed concern at the situation, put youth employment rate at over 50 per cent.
“Our unemployment rate is spiralling, driven by the wave of four million young people entering the workforce every year, with only a small fraction able to find formal employment," he said.
Emmanuel Onwubiko and Nneka Okonkwo of the Human Rights Writers' Association of Nigeria, in their report on youth unemployment and restiveness, stressed that the high rate of youth unemployment in Nigeria gave cause for concern. "Every year, thousands of graduates leave tertiary institutions with no prospects of getting jobs. The government agencies concerned with employment have failed to formulate and implement policies that will provide jobs for the large army of unemployed Nigerians. The federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity has failed to sufficiently galvanise the talents and high energy levels of young Nigerian graduates.
“The streets are littered with young hawkers who would have found gainful employment as self-employed persons. Teenage female street traders are constantly faced with the threat of sexual molestation by depraved adults while the Nigerian government is too weak to take proactive measures to protect them. The large number of unemployed youths is capable of undermining democracy in the country as they are a ready pool for deployment by criminals and politicians. We need to recall the role played by restive youths in the oil-rich Niger Delta prior to the Federal Government's declaration of amnesty. It is also public knowledge how religious extremists in Northern Nigeria have been using youths for their violent campaign", they wrote.
Given the lack of sufficient employment in the formal sector, young people may be compelled to engage in casual work and other unorthodox means of livelihood.
The rising tide of unemployment and the fear of a bleak future among Nigerian youths have made them vulnerable to the manipulations of criminals. This can be seen in the increasing cases of violent crime such as kidnapping, targeted/hired assassinations as well as drug/human trafficking.
Weak security system
Many have blamed the security apparatuses in the country for their seeming lack of commitment to duty, which has encouraged the upsurge of crime in most parts of the nation, in recent times. According to Mr Samuel Okwonkwo, a lawyer, the ineffectiveness of the Nigerian Police is responsible for the boldness exhibited by criminals who now operate anytime they so choose in any part of the country.
He said, "No one is safe. We are all living in fear of the unknown. Criminals roam the streets freely nowadays. Robbers operate in broad daylight and kidnappers have a field day monitoring and abducting their targets. It is so pathetic that the security agencies do not yet have any ways to checkmate all these. The wave of kidnapping across the country is worrisome. The government and the Inspector General of Police must re-group and task themselves".
While some are calling for a state controlled police force, others stress that everyone in the society must be held responsible for his or her safety.
Mrs Alice Adekanye, a retiree, stressed that the flambouyant lifestyle of many Nigerians was partly responsible for the rampant cases of kidnapping in the country, adding that if one lived modestly, such a person would not attract attention.
"When you look around, especially at events, you see people put on heavy jewellery or drive flashy cars etc. Some houses in my area are so big that you would think it was the abode of the governor or president. Such lifestyle attracts criminals' attention and you'll find out that most of those kidnapped are mostly rich or those thought to be rich, except if it was a kidnapping meant to settle a score. We must not blame the police entirely, because we must also protect ourselves", she said.
Also, the call by Governor Peter Obi of Anambra state that he would hold traditional rulers in the state in whose domain kidnapping takes place culpable, according to social critics, appears misplaced. They argue that traditional rulers, especially in the South-Eastern states, only have ornamental value and should therefore not be expected to be the chief security officers of their kingdoms. They were not paid security agents of the state, and should therefore not be expected to play the role of moles, which was never part of the duties of traditional rulers.
Political kidnappings
There have also been cases where kidnapping have been used as a means to settle scores between parties. Politicians, businessmen etc have been known to sponsor kidnappings, so as to instil fear in their opponents or to kill them. In Delta and Bayelsa States, politicians are always wary of themselves and they are normally seen in the company of heavily armed escorts, because of the fear of kidnapping. In Edo State recently, an aide to the governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, was kidnapped. Also, in September, in Bauchi State, the in-law to Governor Isa Yuguda, Mohammed Sade, was kidnapped. Sade was the chairman of the body in charge of fertilizer distribution in the state. No ransom demands were made. In the South-South, militants had, at one time, resorted to kidnapping politicians and top business executives’ wives in order to protest the non-payment of their amnesty claims. This wave of politically motivated abductions had further spiralled into senseless killings of the victims, if they (the victims) failed to come up with the demanded amounts. Till date, not much had been done to curtail their activities or apprehend the kidnappers
Solution
There was a sigh of relief by Nigerians when the proposal that kidnapping should attract capital punishment was passed by the National Assembly.
The Federal House of Representatives had okayed the bill which instituted death for anyone caught in the act of kidnapping.
The Federal Government had, in recent times, re-equipped the Nigerian Police with modern communication gadgets and vehicles in order to boost the efficiency of the force. This had also been adopted my many states in the federation as the state governors in mostly eastern states had endorsed a death penalty for kidnappers. While critics continue to call on security agencies to devise new strategies to combat criminal activities of kidnappers and other vices, there have also been calls for politicians to eschew political violence, while encouraging the Federal Government to provide employment for youths, for example, vocational centres, so that idle youths could be taken off the streets.
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