A Nigerian Army lieutenant has been abducted by suspected militants in the Abule Ado area of FESTAC town, Lagos State.
Security and Situational Awareness, Open Source Intelligence, Cybersafety and Cybersecurity, Threat Alerts, Geopolitical Risks, etc. Vanguard Of A Countering Violent Extremism Advocacy: "Nigerians Unite Against Insecurity, Terrorism and Insurgency". For Articles, Press Releases, Adverts etc, Email: donnuait(a)yahoo.com, Twitter: @DonOkereke.
Showing posts with label Kidnap for ransom and extortion in Nigeria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kidnap for ransom and extortion in Nigeria. Show all posts
Monday 20 February 2017
Friday 17 February 2017
Gunmen Kidnap Catholic Priest in Akwa Ibom State, South-South Nigeria
A Roman Catholic priest of Ikot Ekpene Diocese, in Akwa Ibom State, Rev. Father Felix Akpan has been abducted by unknown gunmen.
Thursday 9 February 2017
Wednesday 8 February 2017
Pirates Kidnap Seven Russians, Ukrainian Crew Off Nigerian Coast
A crew of seven Russians and a Ukrainian have been taken hostage off the coast of Nigeria after their ship was attacked, diplomats in Moscow and Kiev said Wednesday.
Monday 6 February 2017
Why The Scourge of Kidnapping Persists in Nigeria
Kidnap for ransom and extortion (KRE) came to the fore in Nigeria
when sometime in 2007, a total of 24 expatriates comprising 3 Koreans, 8
Filipinos, a Dutchman, amongst others were kidnapped in separate attacks in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta region.
On the night of 14-15 April 2014, Boko Haram upped the ante with the kidnapping
of about 276 Chibok school girls from Government Secondary School, Chibok in
Borno State. 21 of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls were freed by Boko Haram in
October 2016 after negotiations were facilitated between the insurgent group and the Nigerian government by
the Swiss government. Nigeria’s THISDAY newspaper says ‘’an authoritative presidency source informed it that
Nigerian
government was coerced to part with cash to get the 21 girls out’’. While we fixated on Boko Haram’s mass
kidnappings of scores of women and girls, Small
Wars Journal reckons Boko Haram kidnapped
and co-opted more than 10, 000 boys.
Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram |
Kidnapping in Nigeria is Under-reported;
Ransoms Often Paid
While Mexico came tops followed by India, Pakistan and Iraq, Nigeria was ranked fifth in 2015 global abduction index published by
Control Risk, a UK consultancy firm. Kidnapping incidents are generally
underreported in Nigeria. There is paucity of reliable crime data in Nigeria
but a guestimate by the Nigeria Police suggests there were 887 kidnapping incidents in Nigeria in 2015. Security agencies apparently go all
out when a big-shot is kidnapped than when a Joe Bloggs is involved. For want
of confidence in the security agencies, families of kidnapped victims will
rather ‘play ball’, pay ransom than involve the security agencies.
Source: control Risks |
Trend of Mass Kidnappings in Nigeria
Mass kidnapping is becoming a trend in Nigeria. Sometime in
January 2017, two young ladies – Veronica Otogo, Bisola Mohammed and one
Damilola Oribuyaku were reportedly kidnapped in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. Their abductors are demanding
$300,000 ransom. In 2016, seven expatriates were kidnapped in Calabar, Cross River State, South-South Nigeria
and subsequently released after ransom payment. The Lagos-Ogun state axis in
South-west Nigeria is also bedeviled with mass kidnapping of residents and
students. Typical cases include the recent kidnapping of 3 landlords in Isheri
area of Lagos State. Others include students of Babington Macaulay Junior
Seminary, a model private missionary school in Ikorodu, students of Lagos State
Model College, Igbo-Nla in Epe, both in Lagos state and the recent kidnapping
of staff and students of the Nigerian Turkish International College, NTIC,
located in Isheri North, Ogun State.
Nigeria Turkish International Colleges, NTIC |
They were freed after ransom was
paid. Three women were kidnapped in Kaduna State, North-Central Nigeria while three medical doctors were
also kidnapped in Imo state, South-East Nigeria. Five children were kidnapped in Bauchi State
while 5 Polish sailors were kidnapped off the coast of Nigeria.
Kidnapping Thrives in
Nigeria Despite Death Penalty
Worried by pervasive kidnapping in Nigeria, the Nigerian Senate
sanctioned death penalty for kidnappers. Out of Nigeria’s 36 states, kidnapping
attracts death penalty in about 10 states -
Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Kogi and Lagos
where the governor recently signed the State’s anti-kidnapping law. The Lagos State anti-kidnapping law inter-alia prescribes death penalty for convicts whose victims die
in their custody. Persistent criminal activities, kidnapping in Nigeria despite
death penalty and amnesty indicates that such prescriptions don’t
deter nor rein in criminals.
Causes of kidnapping in
Nigeria
Massive Unemployment: A report by Nigeria’s National Bureau of
Statistics, NBS, asserts that unemployed
Nigerians skyrocketed to a record 31 million as at September
2016. Some analysts believe that kidnapping basks on the high unemployment rate
in Nigeria. Others factors that contribute to insecurity and kidnapping are:
paucity of state-of-the-art equipment (forensic, intelligence gathering gadgets
etc) for the security agencies and inherent reactive approach to crime
fighting, lack of security awareness and consciousness on the part of the
citizenry, impunity and a corrupt, slowpoke judiciary, amongst others. Talking
about inefficient criminal justice system, an alleged notorious kidnap kingpin,
militant leader cum founder of Liberation
Movement of the Urhobo People, LIMUP reportedly responsible for the kidnapping of Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and
other high profile kidnappings, one Kelvin Oniarah Ezeigbe, alias Ibruvwe was
arrested by security agents on 25 September, 2013 but his trial drags on till
2017, four years after his arrest. No guarantee his trial will be concluded in the
next 6 years. Reminiscent of movie scenes or events in a failed state, on January 27, 2017, a daredevil criminal gang invaded
Owerri High Court, South-East Nigeria, shot sporadically and whisked away their
leader, a notorious kidnapper identified as Chibueze Henry alias
"Vampire" or ‘’Onye Na Way Ya’’ who was standing trial. Vampires
daring get away is not a one-off. Recall that few years ago, Kelvin Oniarah Ezeigbe (mentioned above) purportedly masterminded
the escape of his men been escorted by Prison officials to stand trial.
Henry Chibueze a.k.a Vampire |
Amnesty To Criminals in
Nigeria, A Pat on The Back?
Recall that Imo, Rivers, and now Lagos State governors respectively offered amnesty to criminals,
cultists in their domains. Criminals
are more likely to recidivate - fall back to crime - when they waltz from
breaking the law. I expounded the implications of amnesty and recidivism
of criminals in Nigeria in one of my piece. The same Niger Delta blokes that
the Yar Adua/Jonathan administration granted amnesty are the same people still
blasting oil installations. Same Boko
Haram insurgents that parleyed, allegedly swapped
prisoners with Nigerian government on the release of 21 abducted Chibok girls
are the ones still causing mayhem. The seeming untouchability and larger-than-life
disposition of outlaws in Nigeria emboldens their henchmen and other potential
criminal elements. Perhaps we can take a cue from the
United States. Former President Obama commuted the sentences of Ms. Chelsea Manning,
a US Army intelligence analyst serving a 35-year sentence for leaking
classified military information. All in all, Mr. Obama granted 64
pardons and 207 commutations. The
aforementioned committed various crimes, they were tried, convicted, did time
and later pardoned or had their sentences commuted. In Nigeria, the trend is to
(un)wittingly encourage impunity by granting carte blanche amnesty to
hardboiled criminals. As they say, if someone is ready to do the crime, s/he
should also be prepared to do the time. Commutation, pardon or amnesty can come
later, if need be.
Recommendations,
Anti-kidnapping Tips
Prevention they say, is better than cure. To rein in insecurity and criminal activities, the Nigerian
government must tackle unprecedented proliferation of arms in the country.
There’s urgent need to provide sophisticated gadgets to the security agencies,
boost their morale and train them to be proactive rather than reactive. Nigeria
urgently needs far-reaching reform of its criminal justice system to encourage
quick dispensation of justice. Security and safety education and awareness must
be ramped up. House owners, schools, public places and organizations must
factor in ‘’Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, CPTED, while
designing and constructing their structures. CPTED is a proactive crime
prevention concept that focuses on tactical design and effective use of the
built environment to reduce or remove the preponderance for crime to occur in
an environment. CPTED encompasses
five principles: (a) physical security – fencing, CCTV cameras, lighting (b)
surveillance – intelligence gathering, security guards (c) access or movement
control - gates (d) management/maintenance and (e) defensible space. Government
and regulatory agencies must ensure schools are not operated in make-shift
apartments. Beware of ‘’insider threats’’. Some kidnapping incidents are
engineered by domestic staff; ensure holistic security background checks while
hiring such staff. You may wish to refer to 27
security, safety tips to prevent, survive a kidnapping incident
for comprehensive anti-kidnapping tips.
Conclusion:
Kidnapping
persists in Nigeria because of the penchant for treating the symptoms of a
disease rather than addressing its root causes. An analogy suffices: if two
motorcycles collide in an accident in Nigeria, the likely solution will be to
ban the use of motorcycles. No effort is made to unravel and fix the remote and
immediate causes. The security agencies must not be reactive, wait for
kidnapping to occur, ransoms paid before entertaining the public with parade of
suspects who were probably tortured into confessing to the crime. An Igbo
proverb says, ‘’onaghi adi mma mmiri zoochaa, echenyewa oku’’. Rough English
translation says, ‘’there’s no point bringing out kegs to fetch rain water
after the rain must have ceased.
Written
by:
© Don
Okereke
(Security
Consultant/Analyst, Writer)
Holistic Security Background Checks Limited
Twitter:
@DonOkereke
Saturday 14 January 2017
Breaking: Two Staff, 3 Students of Turkish International School Kidnapped in Nigeria
Vanguard newspaper reports that five persons, three students and two members of staff of the Turkish International School, Isheri, a border between Lagos and Ogun states were Friday night kidnapped.
Thursday 22 December 2016
Gunmen Kidnap Female Customs Officer In Festac, Lagos
Gunmen abducted a female customs official, Mrs. Comfort Alaba, after attacking a house in the FESTAC Town area of Lagos State, South-West, Nigeria.
Saturday 17 December 2016
Tuesday 6 December 2016
Kidnappers Murder Dangote’s Senior Strategist, Discard Body In Gutter
A senior strategist with Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Istifanus Bello Gurama, who was reportedly kidnapped three weeks ago, has been murdered.
Tuesday 29 November 2016
Lagos State House of Assembly Okays Death Penalty for Kidnappers
The Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday approved death sentence for kidnappers, if their victims die in captivity.
Gunmen Attack Lagos Community, Kidnap Seven
Kidnappers in military uniform at the weekend reportedly abducted seven at the Kodjo Farm, Igbodu, Epe area of Lagos State. The victims, The Guardian gathered last night, were a 65-year-old man, four poultry workers and two travellers. It was gathered last night that the 65-year-old man was identified as Kakaja Joseph, a guard.
Friday 21 October 2016
House of Assembly Propose Death Sentence For Kidnapping in Lagos State, South-West Nigeria
Guardian newspaper reports that in a bid to rein in incessant cases of kidnapping in Lagos State, a private member bill sponsored by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Mudashiru Obasa, seeks death penalty for kidnappers.
Friday 14 October 2016
NSCDC Commandant Proffer Solutions To Rising Kidnapping Incidents in Nigeria
The new commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Mr. Tajudeen Ayobami Balogun, has listed ways to stem the tide of rising incidents of Kidnapping in Nigeria. Mr. Balogun gave these tips during a courtesy visit to The Guardian newspaper recently. He urged Nigerians to be vigilant.
Thursday 13 October 2016
Retired Police AIG Joseph Mbu’s Wife Kidnapped, Rescued
The wife of retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu was kidnapped yesterday near her house in the Satellite Town close to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Cross River State, South-South, Nigeria.
Thursday 6 October 2016
Gunmen Kidnap School Principal, Teacher And Students in Lagos State, South-West Nigeria
Nigeria's lower legislative chamber - the House of Representatives on Tuesday called on the security agencies in the country to intensify rescue efforts for high school students and teachers kidnapped in Lagos State on Thursday morning.
Tuesday 4 October 2016
Recession, Upsurge in Crimes in Nigeria: 25 Security And Safety Tips For Nigerians
The current recession in Nigeria is anticipated to have a
multiplier-effect in criminal activities, cybercrime and general insecurity. Many
people have lost their jobs and businesses have collapsed while prices of
goods, food stuffs in the market have doubled if not tripled. Beyond this, we
also know that so-called ‘’ember months’’ usually witness high crime rates as
folks try to ‘meet up’ for the income that was not forthcoming during the last
three quarters of the year. Hence, it is not common to hear of random ritual
killings, gruesome killings, traffic accidents during this time of the ‘’ember
months’’.
Saturday 17 September 2016
Gunmen Kidnap 4 Men in Isheri G.R.A, Lagos - Ogun Border Town, South-West Nigeria
Gunmen have reportedly kidnapped four men in Isheri North, a border town between Lagos and Ogun states, South-West, Nigeria.
Sunday 11 September 2016
Gunmen Kidnap Pastor in Rivers State, South-South, Nigeria
Reports from Daily Post newspaper say gunmen suspected to be kidnappers abducted one Pastor Sylvanus Ogbu, district head of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Obele in Emohua Local Government area of Rivers state, South-South, Nigeria.
10 New Tricks Kidnappers in Nigeria Deploy To Lure Unsuspecting Victims
Kidnapping has now become commonplace in Nigeria as kidnappers continue to devise new techniques to lure unsuspecting victims.
Watch out for the following tricks used by kidnappers in Nigeria to abduct unsuspecting victims:
Thursday 8 September 2016
Police Rescue Indian National Kidnapped In Lagos, Sout-West, Nigeria
The Nigeria Police, Lagos state command has foiled a kidnap attempt and rescued an Indian national from suspected kidnappers in Ikorodu area of Lagos State, South-West Nigeria.
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