Poll results from NOI polls
indicates that unemployment and poverty are the two major reasons there
is a steady rise in cases of kidnap in the country. Apart from these
major causes, greed was also mentioned by 15 percent of respondents who
took the polling organisations survey as another major reason why people
choose kidnapping as their source of revenue.
The poll measured the prevalence of kidnapping in Nigeria and
majority (60 percent) of the respondents affirmed that kidnapping is
either very prevalent or prevalent in the country.
The 61+ age group had the highest (81 percent) percentage of
respondents in this category. On the other hand, 25 percent said that
kidnapping is either not prevalent or not prevalent at all in Nigeria
while 15 percent of Nigerians indicated that kidnapping is somewhat
prevalent.
Further analysis by geo-political zones revealed that respondents in
the South-West (74 percent), North-Central (68 percent), South-South (65
percent) and the South-East (60 percent) zones accounted for the
highest percentage of Nigerians who admitted that kidnapping is
prevalent in the country while the majority of respondents who opined
that the issue of kidnapping is not prevalent in Nigeria are residents
from the North-West (43 percent) and the North-East (33 percent) zones.
More than half of the survey, 60 percent, stated that kidnapping is
very prevalent in Nigeria and 43 percent said they had heard about some
kidnap cases in their locality in the last 3 months further buttressing
its prevalence. Interestingly, a minor 5 percent claimed that there
hasn’t been any case or incidence of kidnapping in their neighbourhood.
To provide a brief insight into the outcomes of the various kidnap
cases reported in the country, a large proportion (87 percent) of the
respondents who specified that they know a victim personally said that
the victim was rescued while 35 percent disclosed that a ransom was paid
before the abductors released the victims. Also, 16 percent indicated
that the kidnappers were only arrested while 8 percent confirmed that
the perpetrators were both arrested and prosecuted.
This indicates the need for more vigilance and alertness on the parts
of individuals while the security agencies improve on their methods of
tackling such cases. Our results also show that Nigerians have high
expectations for the security agencies in handling kidnap cases as
almost 7 in 10 respondents (69 percent) mentioned that they would alert
the security agents if they suspect any kidnapping scene. These were
some of the key findings from the rate of kidnapping poll conducted in
the week of February 6th, 2017.
Kidnapping and hostage-taking are often used by armed groups
especially terror inclined groups as tactics to force significant
concessions relating to their demands on their primary targets. And this
phenomenon is on the increase on daily basis in Nigeria.
The most prominent kidnapping case in Nigeria according to Amnesty
international is the abduction of the Chibok girls in Borno state since
2014 by the Boko Haram sect. Also according to them, 41 alleged new
cases of mass abduction by the Boko Haram sect have been unrecorded by
the Nigerian government since 2014.
Though the Boko Haram sect do not kidnap for the purpose of getting
money through ransom, their activities of kidnap has halted economic
activities (farming) in the North-East geopolitical zone due to fear of
being taken.
While kidnapping for ransom (commonly reported) is more prominent in
the South-East and South-South (Niger Delta); kidnapping for ritual
purposes (uncommonly reported) is more prominent in the South-West and
North Central regions while abduction (mostly unreported) is more
prominent in the North-East and North-West region.
Prominent among the victims of high profile kidnap includes; the
father of the popular novelist Chimamanda Adichie, former Finance
Minister Olu Falae, A reverend Father John Adeyi, and the princess of
Akoko in Ondo State Toyin Omosowon.
There are many causes of kidnapping; among them are unemployment,
poverty, religion, political issues, religion, and corruption. The
practice can be reduced with more governmental involvement, stakeholder
interventions and proper education. In view of this background, NOIPolls
conducted a snap poll to gauge the opinions and perceptions of
Nigerians regarding the rising incidences of kidnapping.
Culled from: BusinessDay Online
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