Matters arising from SDM Intelligence’s report on ‘Economics of the Kidnap industry in Nigeria’

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By Adesoba Toluwalope

Kidnapping for ransom is one of the fast rising organized gang crimes in Nigeria which often leads to loss of liberty, limb and death in the course of incarceration of innocent victims by felons for extortion.

These abductors have seen this as a means to quick wealth therefore doing everything possible, from inflicting injuries to instilling fear to their victims in order to achieve their goal.

According to the report on “Economics of the Kidnap industry in Nigeria” by SDM intelligence, up to date on Friday, April 10, 2020, about 10 states have the most effect of this rampage in the last decade.

Regions like the South-South geopolitical zone had the highest number of these cases, most especially in states like Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers.

These states are best known for their Niger militancy. The next state rapidly trying to meet up is Kaduna, especially the road to Abuja.

States with the highest number of cases includes; Rivers with a total number of 120, Kaduna (117), Delta (96), Bayelsa (85), Borno (82), Kogi (59), Edo (54), Ondo (54), Katsina (52), and Taraba with a total of 47 cases.

However, at a later date and time, there were changes on the chart and in the number of cases and states affected. States like Delta and Rivers fall below while Borno, Kaduna and Katsina take over with the total of 489 fatalities and 82 number of incidents.

Kaduna hits 209 Fatalities with 82 number of Kidnap incidents. Katsina – 147 Fatalities/117 number of incidents. Rivers – 131 Fatalities/120 Incidents, Adamawa – 91 Fatalities/35 Incidents, Niger – 62 Fatalities/32 Incidents, Delta – 58 Fatalities/96 Incidents, Zamfara – 58 Fatalities/129 Incidents, Taraba – 56 Fatalities/47 Incidents, and Edo with 30 Fatalities and 34 Kidnap incidents.

Apparently, the North is taking the lead and the Niger Delta follows right behind it.

At the time of the update, the only Southern State that falls in the leading graph is Lagos. According to the report, victims are often targeted in the south for individual monetary gain since it’s seen as a business transaction.

Victims are selected and strategically targeted unlike in the North where a group of people are just randomly picked in masses, and whoever is unable to pay up or meet with their request will be killed and discarded.

Kidnapping in Borno and Adamawa are often linked to the terrorist group, Boko Haram while few belong to the Fulani Herdsmen militia.

While people are often targeted due to their political background or offices in late 2018, the attack has been increased and wide spread to abduction of villagers and travellers especially in Zamfara, Katsina and Niger states.

This indicates the condition of insecurity in the Country and further states the risk of living in Nigeria, most importantly in states like Zamfara, Rivers, Katsina, Taraba and Kaduna.

According to SBM intelligent, matters arising from SDM Intelligence’s between the year 2011 – 2020, states like Gombe and Jigawa has had no casualty recorded while states like Ebonyi, Kwara, Anambra, Delta, Borno have recorded few deaths from 2016 and 2020.

One of the reasons kidnapping has made attacks deeply rooted is because of the massive gain it’s gaining in the process. SBM indicates in US dollars that kidnappers have received at least $18. 34 million between June 2011 and the end of March 2020 as ransom.

That includes $545,000 paid to secure the release of Ernest Ohunyon in Edo in November 2011, $6868 to rescue Ojo Ekundayo and Benjamin Iluyomade in Ondo State at the end of March 2020.

A known kidnapper and leader of Wadume gang, Hamisu Bala a.k.a Wadume is another notorious kidnap merchant that operates in the North while Evans operates in the South.

Wadume’s gang kidnapped a petrol dealer, Usman Garba on February 16, 2019 demanding for N200 million as ransom, and although N106.3 million was raised, Usman was eventually killed.

Another attempt was made to a victim in the late April, 2019, to the chairman of Universal Basic Education Commission, Dr Muhammad Mohmoud Abubakar, and his daughter by thugs disguised in army uniforms along Kaduna-Abuja highway.

The driver was killed while the victims were abducted.

However, they were released days later after a ransom had been paid. Other victims include villagers from Zamfara, four staff of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

Narrating events of the ordeal, a respondent in Port Harcourt stated in the interview that the belief is that these perpetrators operate on the highway and that the Police are “both accomplices, perpetrator and victims. The ones involved in kidnap are there, those who are fighting the kidnappers too are there, who is winning is in the numbers you have.”

In the respondent’s words, “we’ve seen them divert passengers on the highway. We’ve also seen them trail their victims in inner city streets, or even diverting interstate communities.”

Another respondent in Kaduna said that the kidnappers “break into their victim’s houses or stop the victim on the road, then take their victims to their camp. They have informants, people who tell them the whereabouts of the victims.”

According to a respondent in Enugu State, the number of kidnaps increase are seen in the Youth gang members, also known as cultists. Stating that Youth unemployment has a major factor for an increase of kidnapping, having that Nigeria’s unemployment level rose from 18.8 percent in the third quarter of 2017 to 23.1 percent in the third quarter of 2018.

One of the major reasons of such cases is numerous large swathes of ungoverned spaces, large forest areas that the government are supposed to monitor but are left unattended to, giving space and freedom for these abductors to perform their atrocities.

A case of an incident in November 2019, where sea pirates raided Opurudiegbene community in Buruku, kidnapped three children, carting away with generators, goods and money. Till now, there is no news concerning the rescue of these children.

According to sources, kidnappers often use thick forests as their hideout, staking their victims and hiding them, some even have their camps in the forest.

The government needs to attend swiftly to the major problems in the country which are unemployment and insecurity as the it entered another recession following the coronavirus pandemic.

The Federal Government and State Governments need to set a goal to a proper orientation, training and equipping security agents like the Police and the military to the most affected areas, addressing inter-agency conflict in order to have a perfect goal.

State governments needs to restore peace by interacting with long neglected communities, find out what they need and make sure they are granted. That way, they can easily tell where they feel the hideout or camps are. They can easily fish strange faces out.

Linked to the recent spate of kidnapping in Kankara students in Katsina State and other attempts at kidnapping of school children all over the North, experience suggests that unless the grassroots become part of the wall of vigilance and state and local authorities make prevention of kidnapping a law enforcement priority, this bloody industry will become ingrained in the local population and might be too late to eradicate.

Lastly, the government needs to restore the rule of law to strengthen it. A weak administration of law will lead to chaos. Enforce new rules to curb these acts, especially in the North where there is a disconnection from the Judicial system giving them room to exercise this wrongful act.

According to the report, major causes of high rate of kidnap in Nigeria are as follow;

1.Nonchalant response from the government especially when it concerns rural places in each state.

2. Unemployment (Youths are usually the ones abducting people in North, South and South- South)

3. Thick and unsupervised forest.

4. Communities hiding these perpetrators.

The government should start with employment, create job opportunities and loans for lucrative businesses well monitored. There would be less youth still involved in this act if there is something to do.

Federal and State roads should be guarded with well trained security agents, some of these security agents know these spots. They should assign the best for Federal roads, the highways.

The use of adequate telecommunication is required as well, these people should be traceable whenever they contact families for ransom.

The State government should act on local governments around them, pull these people out. They supplied food, water and necessary toiletries. They know them, a good interaction with the community will solve these acts.

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