Security agencies must do more to stem the scourge
Kidnapping for ransom has assumed anarchic proportions in Nigeria. Hardly a day passes without chilling reports of abductions, sometimes of a whole family. But no recent case has drawn as much national attention to the malaise as that of the six daughters of Alhaji Mansoor Al-Kadriyar. They were abducted from their residence within the precincts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on 26 December 2023, alongside their father whose younger brother, Abdulfatai, was gunned down on the spot. After the kidnappers had killed one of the daughters, an undergraduate of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria due to the inability of their father to meet the N60 million ransom demand, the fate of the remaining five now hangs in the balance.
While we commiserate with Al-Kadriyar over the loss of Nabeeha and hope for the immediate release of his remaining daughters, it is a sad irony that Nigerians can no longer move around freely or even spend quality time with their family without the psychological apprehension of kidnappers lurking around the corner. The effect of all this is that while citizens live in perpetual fear, investors take their businesses elsewhere. Either way, the country is the loser. When the security of citizens is at the mercy of kidnappers and sundry other criminal cartels, a government not only loses legitimacy but also the peoples' support. The federal government must therefore demonstrate the capacity to deal with this menace.
When this whole madness started more than a decade ago, the targets were rich businessmen, politicians, and other well-heeled professionals. But kidnappers have since come to the lower bracket. In some cases, these criminals randomly stop vehicles on the road in the hope of finding someone worth kidnapping. So prevalent is the crime that the African Insurance Organisation (AIO) as far back as 2012 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 network of support staff. You now hear of medical doctors and other professionals being part of the kidnapping ring.
There may be a historical context to this malaise. Long before colonial rule in Nigeria, kidnapping was a means of sourcing for slaves to be sold to foreigners. After the abolition of slave trade, kidnapping for rituals continued. While we believe that crime cannot be rationalised, it is also a fact that the increasing desperation by a growing young population that is not productively engaged is a serious issue we must deal with. Meanwhile, there is a subsisting law in many states that prescribes death penalty for the crime. But that has not deterred kidnappers from carrying out their nefarious activities.
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Unfortunately, the security agencies do not appear to have any solution to this increasing and ever-present menace. That families of victims and other ingenious internet predators now initiate online crowdfunding is why the authorities should be concerned. With that, it is now easy for these criminals to monitor the progress of the crowdfunding and adjust their ransom demands accordingly. In the process, they can also summarily execute some captives for terror effect to speed up ransom payment.
Defence Minister, Abubakar Badaru, warned against crowdfunding to pay ransom. "We all know that there is an existing law against the payment of ransom. So, it is very sad for people to go over the internet and radio asking for donations to pay ransom," said Badaru. He argued that such would only worsen the situation while referencing the case of the six Al-Kadriyar daughters and the online intervention by former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, which led to a raise in the ransom by the criminals.
We subscribe to the argument that crowdfunding to pay kidnappers is counterproductive. But we also understand the desperation pushing people into such direction. We therefore enjoin the federal government as well as all authorities in the 36 states to find a lasting solution to the menace of kidnapping for ransom in Nigeria.
