This treatise is a blow-by-blow account of prevailing kidnapping
in Nigeria. It touches on human trafficking and explores Nigeria’s ranking in
the global kidnapping index, how kidnapping metamorphosed in Nigeria, the epicenter(s)
and litany of kidnapping incidents in Nigeria, payment of ransoms to secure
release of kidnapped victims, capital punishment for kidnappers, pull-factors
encouraging kidnapping in Nigeria, kidnapping dynamics in Nigeria and recommendations
on how to tackle or rein in the menace of pervasive kidnapping in Nigeria.
Introduction:
There is no gainsaying the fact that the unprecedented insecurity
situation: Boko Haram bloodletting insurgency/terrorism, kidnapping et al in
Nigeria, stifles social life, business activities and foreign direct investment.
Kidnapping for ransom and extortion (KRE) is a lingering threat and arguably
the fastest growing crime in Nigeria. Religious leaders, statesmen, nonagenarians,
politicians, lecturers, journalists, students, toddlers, everybody is fair game
for kidnappers in this clime. Similar to pervasive kidnapping, Nigeria is also
upping the ante in human
trafficking which the United Nations
Office on Drugs Control (UNODC) estimates, is a thriving 40 billion dollar
‘industry’, globally.
The concomitant effect of human trafficking and kidnapping on victims apart from the risk of death or physical injury, sexual assault, is a harrowing life-time psychological torture (lack of trust, fear) or panic attacks it inflicts on them.
Insecurity, Kidnapping: A
Global Menace
Every
country has its own fair share of security and socio-economic challenges and
Nigeria is not an exception. Though the motive may
not be the same as the Nigerian kidnap for ransom and extortion (KRE) variant but
it is interesting to note that the United States National Center for Missing
Children estimates ‘’that roughly 800, 000 children are reported missing each
year in the US’’. That equates to approximately 2,000 children per day out of
which 115 are said to be child ‘’stranger abduction’’ cases, meaning that the
child was abducted by an unknown individual. For the record, ‘’more people have
died from guns (casualty: 1,515,863) in the United states since 1968 than from
ALL the wars (casualty: 1,396,733) in American history’’).
Make no mistakes about it, one is not trying to extenuate or downplay
the security challenges inherent in Nigeria but a devil’s advocate may wish to
argue that the menace of pervasive gun violence in the United States dwarfs the
threat of kidnapping in Nigeria yet many
organizations and so-called armchair experts seldom rank the United States as a
‘’high risk country’’. Any explanation for this double standard?
Nigeria Ranks High in the Global
Kidnapping Index
A
while ago, Mexico was ranked first while Nigeria aced
the fifth position in an opprobrious global
kidnapping index which was based on reported incidents of kidnappings. Of
course it is established that globally, kidnapping incidents are grossly
underreported and devoid of publicity hence the aforementioned ranking is dynamic.
The tendency not to report or publicize incidents of kidnapping is very patent
in Nigeria where more often than not, folks seldom repose much confidence on
the police. Mexico and Columbia understandably lead the pack because kidnapping
is a spinoff of an unending drug-associated violence by the various drug
cartels fighting for supremacy and buoyed by a complicit, corrupt government
security agents. While kidnappings in Mexico, Colombia et al seem to be receding,
this heinous crime is upping in Nigeria. If this trend persists, perhaps it is
only a matter of time before Nigeria displaces Mexico as the ‘kidnapping
capital of the world’.
How Kidnapping Metamorphosed, Spread
in Nigeria
Kidnap for ransom and extortion (KRE) was hitherto the
stock-in-trade of self-styled Niger-Delta militants who inter-alia used it as a bargaining chip for a fair share of the
‘national cake’. However, kidnapping is no longer the exclusive right of these
geezers as this criminal enterprise is fast spreading its tentacles across the
nook and cranny of Nigeria. An Igbo proverb suffices thus ‘’Aru gbaa afo, o buru omenala’’. A
rough English translation of this adage says: when a crime persists or becomes
the order of the day, it becomes a way of life. Amazingly, just one kidnapping incident was recorded in Nigeria in 1992
and no iota of kidnapping successively in 1993, 1995, and 1996 (according to a
2001 study by Hiscox group) but fast-forward to 2015, kidnapping has
metamorphosed to a ‘booming enterprise’ in Nigeria.
To give us an idea of the prevailing scenario, Daily Trust Newspaper’s report of September 26, 2015 guesstimates that about 110 persons were
kidnapped in Nigeria in six months (April to September 2015) and that a
dangling N1 billion was demanded for
ransom within this period. As is well known, Boko Haram upped the ante with its
mass abduction of over 200 school girls from Chibok in Borno state, North-East
Nigeria.
The Epicenter of Kidnapping
in Nigeria
Not long ago, South-East (particularly Abia state) Nigeria was reputed
as the kidnapping capital of Nigeria but that seem to have changed now. While a
survey by the CLEEN Foundation (Center for Law Enforcement Education) shows
that people are more likely to be kidnapped in South-West geopolitical zone of
Nigeria than any other region, Daily
Trust newspaper opines that kidnapping is more
prominent in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. This disparity can
be reconciled by the method of extrapolating the data and the shifting or dynamic
nature of kidnapping. Kidnappers are amorphous and are not bound by
geographical boundaries. Places or states noted for high incidents of kidnapping in Nigeria, in no particular order, are: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross
River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Imo, and Kogi. If the kidnapping of the 276 or so Chibok school girls
and several others kidnapped, conscripted by Boko Haram is factored in, then
North-East Nigeria can also be said to be a haven for kidnapping. However if
the motive is strictly the kidnap for ransom and extortion (KRE) variant, we
can safely extrapolate that such kidnappings are generally predominant in the Southern
and middle belt of Nigeria than in the core north.
One Kidnapping Too Many: Litany
of Recent Kidnappings in Nigeria
Recall that Prof. Kamene Okonjo,
octogenarian mother of Nigeria’s erstwhile Minister of Finance Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala was kidnapped in 2012. Kate Eni and Patience Egebeni, both
Cousins of former President Goodluck Jonathan and one Mrs. Rosemary Osahagolu,
the Vice-Chancellor of Rivers State University of Education fell victim to
kidnappers. A Head of Department at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) was
kidnapped from her home; N20million was
reportedly demanded as ransom. A United States Missionary was once kidnapped in central Nigeria while three women were
abducted in Bayelsa State and one of them was later found dead. In a related
incident, 3 women were abducted in Ekiti state. A regent was kidnapped in Ondo state and N20million ransom was demanded, an Anglican Bishop was kidnapped and N40million ransom was demanded, an Israeli
expat was killed in Nigeria in kidnapping attempt so also a catholic priest was
kidnapped in Kogi State. Gunmen kidnapped Sun Newspaper’s Deputy MD’s wife – Mrs.
Toyin Nwosu in Lagos and was freed after a former governor of Abia state – Orji Uzo
Kanu reportedly ‘’intervened’’ (euphemism for ransom payment?). Also in Lagos
state, a nanny kidnapped 3 children under her care. The son of the vice
chancellor of University of Port Harcourt was also kidnapped in Rivers State. A prominent hotelier was kidnapped in Niger state by gunmen. A 92-yr-old
monarch was kidnapped in Bayelsa and also one
Professor Zibokere Daukiye was kidnapped in Bayelsa State, South-South Nigeria. Not to be outdone, gunmen abducted the
District head of Wamakko in Sokoto
state. One of the latest high profile victim of
indiscriminate kidnapping in Nigeria is a septuagenarian former Secretary
General of the Federation (SGF) - Chief Olu Falae supposedly by Fulani
herdsmen. Chief Falae insists his family paid a N5 million ransom to secure his release and this has been
corroborated by the alleged culprits who now in police custody. These are just
random examples.
Ransom Money: To Pay or
Not To Pay
Ndigbo have an aphorism that utmost finesse and precision is needed in
handling a tsetse fly that perched on a man’s balls. Same principle applies in
trying to exonerate a kidnap victim from the clutches of his abductors. Granted
payment of ransom to kidnappers to effect release of their victim is a moral
issue and it encourages the goons to wallow in this crime and the Nigeria
police frown at such practice but it appears payment of ransom is a hobson’s choice when push comes to shove especially in
country where there is no guarantee that the security agencies will live up to
expectations. Kidnap victims in Nigeria are more likely to promptly waltz free
if the victims well-wishers play ball than when they want to play James Bond.
In 2013, the former deputy governor of Anambra State, one Dr. Chudi Nwike was
killed by his abductors not because ransom was not paid but because the
kidnappers demanded N30 million but the
family came up with a paltry N5 million.
According to the report, the kidnappers subsequently rang the wife of the
deputy governor and urged her to ‘’use the N25
million balance to bury her husband’’. In September 2015, the Edo
State Police Command reportedly uncovered the lifeless body of a lecturer of Ambrose
Alli University, Ekpoma, Professor Paul Erie who was abducted three months
earlier. The kidnappers were said to have demanded ‘’a huge sum of money’’ for
his release. Not sure whether his family paid the amount or not before his
corpse was discovered in a shallow grave. In Aba, Abia state, abductors of one Mrs. Chioma
Chukwura reportedly killed her after they became suspicious that they were been
trailed by security operatives in the process of trying to pick up the ransom
money. Of course recall Chief Olu Falae asserted that his family paid a N5 million to secure his release. Perhaps Chief Falae
may not have come out alive if his family didn’t do the needful.
Kidnappings in Nigeria: Accusing
Fingers
It is trite that kidnappings in Nigeria are perpetrated
on the façade of economic rationalities or as an instrument
of political coercion/intimidation, terrorism (e.g. Boko haram’s abduction of
the Chibok school girls) but some worrying dimensions are the allusion that
proceeds of kidnapping (ransoms) could be fuelling insecurity (terrorism) and
the alleged culpability of security agents by acts of commission or omission.
Lately, the Human Right Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) pressed for a probe of security agents’ alleged role in
kidnappings in Nigeria alleging that
evidence it amassed from eye witnesses and relations of victims of kidnapping
who were eventually freed after huge payments changed hands, suggests that some
police commissioners, especially in the South-East, pegged police ‘settlements’
at N1 million, to be paid by family
members of kidnapped folks before the police could swing into action on a reported
incident of kidnapping. A notable case was an allegation that after a certain
family member in a South-East state ‘settled’ the police, the kidnappers had to
increase their ransom demand from N3
million to N5 million because the
kidnappers contended that if the family could pay N1 million to the police, they must pay N5 million to them. It also appears that the more prominent or
influential a kidnap victim is in Nigeria, the likelihood that the security
agencies will throw its hat in the ring and solve the riddle to forestall
public embarrassment and outcry. Not so for small fry victims of kidnapping. The
foregoing explains why relatives or associates of many kidnapped victims in
Nigeria rarely go public or bother to get security agents involved. Bad eggs in
the security agencies are rubbing the names of the agencies in the mud. Just
recently, the Sun Newspaper reported the arrest of 38-year-old Corporal I.L.O. Peter, serving at Oguta
Division of the Imo State Police Command and Constable Nicholas Ogbianu, 37,
who was dismissed from the Delta State Police Command in Onitsha, Anambra
State, for robbery and for impersonation respectively.
Capital Punishment For Kidnapping, A Paper-tiger?
Sometime
in 2009, the 36 State governors in Nigeria met at the Kwara State Liaison
office in Abuja under the auspices of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF). At
the end of their meeting, they issued a communiqué which inter-alia, urged the
federal government ‘’to bring the full weight of the law on culprits of
kidnapping’. True to their words, kidnapping currently attracts a death
sentence in the following states: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross
River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Imo, and Kogi. The then Delta state governor reportedly
refused to assent to the death sentence bill passed by the State Assembly, one
is not sure if the Bill became a law, willy-nilly. As a matter of fact as I was
penning this piece, news filtered in, that three medical doctors and a lecturer
were kidnapped in Imo
and Kogi States
respectively despite the fact that kidnapping attracts a death sentence in
these two States. Given the geometric progression of kidnapping in Nigeria notwithstanding
capital punishment for kidnappers, one wonders whether a death sentence is
indeed a deterrent, an antidote to kidnapping?
Pull Factors of Kidnapping in Nigeria:
The
proliferation of kidnappings in Nigeria is a function of one or a combination
of the following factors:
1.
Instrument of Political Coercion and
Intimidation: A Security Consultant - Chigozie Ubani
attributed
some kidnap cases to politics, “I see
political actors who engage the services of these young men in the course of
protecting themselves, intimidating their opponents, electioneering, and soon
after, the kidnappers are dumped.”
2.
Porous illegal borders,
proliferation of small arms haven’t helped matters either. Nigeria is said to
have more than 1,479 illegal,
porous borders which undoubtedly encourages
wanton smuggling and proliferation of light weapons.
3.
Unprecedented unemployment rate, abject poverty
in the midst of plenty: When a popular human right activist – Chief Mike
Ozekhome was kidnapped, he was quoted as saying that his abductors ‘’spoke
Queens English and claimed to be graduates’’. The blokes claimed they took to
kidnapping because of lack of employment.
4.
Lack of intelligence, sophisticated
technology
5.
‘National
Cake Syndrome’ and resource control connection: Niger-Delta youths arguably
popularized kidnap for ransom in Nigeria as an instrument of recouping their
own fair share of the national cake and to press home their demand for resource
control.
6.
Religious connotation: Boko Haram Islamic
Sect basks on a warped ideology that ‘’Western Education is Forbidden’’ believe
young girls have no business attending schools but should be in their husbands
place hence their kidnapping of the Chibok school schools to dissuade other
girls from attending schools and also as an instrument of coercion
Forecasting The Future of Kidnapping
in Nigeria
Granted
mortals are not omniscient and cannot say with cast-iron certainty how future
events will pan out but we can at least make very coherent extrapolations,
forecast the future based on previous, ongoing scenarios and other variables
thrown into the mix. For a start, the Nigerian economy is not in the best of
shape. Some argue Nigeria may be sliding to a recession if urgent steps are not
taken to check the current economic downturn. Crude oil prices, stocks, the
Naira (Nigerian currency) have continued to plunge. Banks and other
organizations are laying off staff. Unemployment, abject poverty is at an all-time
high and there is no safety net. Despite the so-called bailout largesse to
state governors, backlog of salaries are yet to be cleared. In the Niger-Delta,
the security situation is quite fluid due to the imminent end to the hitherto mouth-watering
amnesty largesse, scholarships and contracts (crude oil pipeline protection
contract, amongst others) that empowered Niger-Delta youths and birthed nouveau-riche
dollar millionaires/billionaires. Let’s hope the forthcoming gubernatorial
election in Bayelsa state will not witness an upsurge in political
brinkmanship and kidnapping. It also appears Nigeria’s counter insurgency
operation in the North-East has seen more security personnel deployed to that
area thereby creating a security lacuna in the southern flank. Now that Boko
Haram is been outgunned and hemmed in, with no possibility of holding and
occupying territories, the probable and feasible option left for the sect is to
wage some kind of guerrilla warfare (random suicide bombings, drive-by killings),
with kidnapping in the mix. Prognosis: the butterfly-effect of a combination of
the aforementioned factors is that violent extremism and kidnapping trend in
Nigeria will persist if the aforementioned pull-factors are not reined. In her October 2015 essay, Red24’s Special Risks Analyst, Nicole Elliott reckons kidnap for
ransoms and extortions (KRE) and short-term kidnappings are ‘’established threats in Nigeria’’ and are
‘’unlikely
to change in the foreseeable future’’.
Recommendations: How To Tackle, Rein
in Kidnappings in Nigeria:
That
kidnapping continues to be rife in Nigeria despite the very drastic death
penalty imposed on perpetrators of this vicious crime is evidence that once an
individual makes up his mind to commit a crime, even a death penalty does not
dissuade him from that act. A multi-faceted, holistic approach (immediate,
short and long term measures) will go a long way in drastically reducing if not
stamping out kidnappings in Nigeria. The following steps will help stave off
and curtail kidnappings in Nigeria:
1. Common Sense, VIGILANCE and Resilience! It is established that security
is the primary responsibility of every government but every responsible
individual have a role to play in his personal security and safety and must not
throw caution to the wind, especially in our clime where the government is bedeviled
by challenges in all fronts. There is no better time than now for all Nigerians
to be security conscious and ensure they do their part towards ensuring their
personal safety and security. Kidnappings don’t just happen pronto. The bad
guys do their own research and usually trail their victims for a while before
striking. If you are driving and you notice a car trailing you consistently,
NEVER drive straight to your home, better to enter a public place. Seldom have
a predictable or regular routine or route. Don’t disclose your travel itineraries
to strangers or third parties. If you feel unsafe,
go out in groups. Carry out a due diligence on domestic aides: house helps,
drivers, private security officers as the disgruntled and unscrupulous amongst
them can engineer the kidnapping of their paymasters or his wards. In this age
of social media and internet, folks MUST desist from unwittingly leaving a
trail of their travel plans, material acquirements, schools their wards attend amongst
others. This applies mostly to nouveau-riches, so-called celebrities who bask
on flaunting their material possessions on social media (Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Etc.). Bear in mind that even without obviously saying where a picture
was taken, recent cameras, Smartphones and gadgets have a way of embedding GPS
locations on pictures which will enable an interested party to extrapolate
where the picture was shot. The good news is that the GPS feature on these
techies can be turned off and on. Feel free to turn it off if need be. There
are times when things just go wrong no matter how careful one is. If this
happens and one falls prey to kidnappers, it is advisable to comply with their
instructions. Don’t go arguing or trying to play James Bond to avoid been
killed by the abductors. If a victim, be mindful not to menacingly stare at
your abductor(s) as this may give an impression that you can identify him/her. That
is on the personal security, safety side of things.
2. To
the Nigerian government, it is trite that
Nigeria is grossly under-policed. Whereas the United Nations recommends
a Police to people ratio of 1:400, Nigeria can only boast of about 371,000 policemen,
grossly inadequate for a country of 170 million people. The reasonable thing to
do is not only to recruit more policemen but also ensure they are well
motivated and kitted.
3. Tackle unprecedented unemployment. It is foolhardy to
expect tranquility to prevail in a country rich in human and natural resources
where official unemployment guesstimate hovers around 8.2
percent in the second quarter of 2015. Former President Obasanjo once averred that unemployment is a ticking
time bomb in Nigeria.
4. Ramp up quick prosecution of culprits: Quick dispensation of
justice will go a long way in stemming the tide of kidnappings in Nigeria. As they
say, ‘’justice delayed is justice denied’’. It portends danger when culprits
waltz or wriggle out of prosecution and penalty. Sometime in October 2010, a
traditional ruler and a college provost were kidnapped in Ekiti state by a band
of kidnappers. While taking the victims to a hideout in Delta State a fatal
accident occurred at Kabba in Kogi State during which both victims were killed
while the kidnappers were seriously injured. The kidnappers were arrested by
the police and charged to court. The trial court ordered that the kidnap
suspects be remanded in prison custody but they subsequently escaped from
prison in 2014 during a violent attack on the Lokoja prison by unknown gunmen. In
September 2013, Nigerians were told that a combined security team drawn from
the Nigerian Army and Department of State Security Service (DSS) arrested a
notorious kidnapper, one Kevin Prosper Oniarah, also known as Kevin Ibruvwe who
allegedly masterminded the kidnapping of Human Rights Lawyer, Chief Mike
Ozekhome but two years down the line, no progress is made in the prosecution of
this alleged kidnapping kingpin. The foregoing characterizes the shoddy
prosecution of criminals in Nigeria.
5. Deploying State-of-the-art technological gadgets. When we say
novel gadgets, it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Some simple security
gadgets like pepper spray if well and timely deployed, can immobilize
prospective kidnappers. A pen recorder can record evidence. While it is truism
that the process of telephoning the family members of the victim of kidnapping
presents a weak spot, there are cases where kidnappers try to circumvent this
by constantly changing their location or been inside a fast-moving car while
making ransom demands. The simple logic here is that the principle of tracking
calls exploits extrapolating the nearest GSM masts transmitting the call at a
particular point in time. This becomes a problem in a clime where tracking a
call in REAL-TIME is difficult. To rein in kidnappings in Nigeria, Nigerian
Security agencies MUST be several steps ahead of kidnappers in terms of
deploying state-of-the-art equipment that can track GSM calls in REAL-TIME as
is the case in most Western societies.
6. Set up a well-equipped anti-kidnapping squad in in all Divisional
Police offices across Nigeria and encourage information/intelligence sharing
amongst the security agencies.
7. Purge
the Security agencies of bad eggs even from the point of enlistment: Very
stringent background checks MUST be carried out on prospective enlistees into
the security agencies (the Army, Navy, Air force, the Police, Department of
State Security (DSS), National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Nigeria Security and
Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), other sister organizations, not forgetting the
Private Security Industry in Nigeria. Merit and passion for the profession must
be the yardstick for recruitment into the security services as against the current
norm where the aforementioned benchmarks are sacrificed in the altar of cronyism,
godfatherism and the almighty ‘’quota or federal character’’ system. The allegation by the HURIWA of a direct or
indirect involvement of security agents/agencies in incidents of kidnappings in
Nigeria must not be swept under the carpet. We call for a proper investigation
and punishment of culprits where culpability is established.
8. Public awareness and enlightenment campaigns: The National Orientation
Agency, similar agencies, including electronic and print media platforms must
embark on anti-kidnapping awareness campaigns.
9. Rein in Fulani Herdsmen, Cattle rustlers: An emerging threat dynamic
to kidnapping in Nigeria is the alleged connection of Fulani herdsmen in this
ignoble trade. These folks supposedly engineered the kidnapping of Chief Olu
Falae and that of the traditional ruler of Apaa-Bunu community in Kogi state,
one Oba Adebisi Obademi. Aftermath of the kidnapping of Chief Olu Falae, Fulani
herdsmen have reportedly embarked on self-registration
in South West. This sounds like a good idea
worth replicating across Nigeria. On the other hand, we urge folks to desist
from cattle rustling since some of the alleged kidnappings masterminded by
Fulani herdsmen are in response to the frequent rustling of their cattle by
their host communities. Fulani herdsmen must play by the rules, not graze on
farmlands. Some people have also advocated for microchips to be implanted on
livestock to stem the tide of cattle rustling, poaching.
Conclusion:
Security is a collective responsibility. All hands must be on deck
to rein insecurity, kidnapping in Nigeria.
Written By:
© Don Okereke
(Security Analyst/Consultant, Writer/Blogger, Ex-Serviceman,
Change Agent)
Bookmark my blog: http://www.donokereke.blogspot.com. Follow me on twitter: @DonOkereke for cutting edge Security/Safety
news/developments, bespoke due diligence investigation, research, background
screening, security and cultural awareness training, threat/risk assessment/alerts
and travel advisory of specific locations across Nigeria.
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