In the early eighties the word “kidnap” was almost alien to our security lexicon agencies. Infact they were more familiar with the criminal words like, “theft, robbery, and of course car snatching.” So, policemen became more informed when reports of human kidnapping became prominent especially in the western and eastern parts of the country. The human kidnapping which attracted financial ransome later progressed into political kidnapping which was for political statement. This crime gained more prominence when robbers noticed that the police were cracking down on them by easily eliminating them during operational combat with men of the Anti robbery squad (SARS).
Sequel to this development, armed robbers resorted to an ingenious easier and better way of maximising their criminal activities by going into kidnapping. By kidnapping a victim, the criminal only need to abduct their victims by moving him or her either into an islolated area before making their demands depending on their investigation on the person or personality in their custody. In 1995, the first recorded kidnapping for ransom was carried out in Lagos and it was the kidnap of a seven years old son of an oil magnate living at Maryland part of Lagos. Three members of the SARS team under Assistant Inspector General of police incharge of Zone Two, Mr Ifejika who deployed officers Simeon Midenda, Junaid and Sunday Mitchubi to crack down the kidnappers. Impressively, the team was able to rescue the seven years old boy while the two perpetrators were arrested. The success of the operation gave birth to the formation of the Anti kidnapping squad. The importance of this squad cannot be underestimated same with the scrapped anti-robbery squad. However, since the scrapping of the SARS squad, the number of kidnapping cases, had been on the increase with more innocent Nigerians falling prey.
The Nigerian consultancy, SBM Intelligence, said it had recorded 4,777 kidnappings in the country between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu taking power in May 2023 and January 2024.
The ICIR reports that the President did not keep his word. Apart from failing to rescue the Chibok schoolgirls, insurgents and other criminals had whisked away approximately 900 children from their schools during his eight years in office. The evil phase of kidnapping started unfolding when between 14 and 15 midnight of April 2014 the terrorist group known as Boko Haram carried out a kidnapping operation whereby 276 mostly Christian female students aged from 16-18 were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group called Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School from the town Chibok in Borno state, Nigeria. Since then, virtually every sector of the society had been touched from families, to all the levels of educational institutions across the country. Including private and government officials not forgetting traditional rulers and religious priests. Each kidnap case attracts the demand of ransom running into several millions of Naira with the request for the supply of, motorcycles to enable the kidnappers easy escape. The kidnap on August 22, 2024 of the Emir of Gobir, in Sokoto State, Alhaji Isa Bawa, who was later killed, unfortunately, his assailants were reported to had demanded for sixty Million Naira ransomed before his corpse could be released to his family for burial. Even the kidnap of members of the national youths service corps and the recently released medical students shows that the internal security of the country has collapsed. How can we explain the kidnap of Dr Ganiyat Popoola of the National eye center in Kaduna which is about to trigger a one week strike by resident doctors. With the rising number of kidnap cases across the country.
According to data sourced from the National Security Tracker (NST), an initiative of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), 3,841 people were reported to have been killed by non-state actors, while 4,243 others were kidnapped in 2023. The cases of banditry had further worsen the kidnapping saga as bandits go for the jugular of farmers and ordinary villagers killing and disrupting agricultural activities which has resulted in low production and high cost of farming products across the country. Unfortunately, the government and security agencies especially the military provided succor for these killer herdsmen and bandits ,by granting them amnesty. Apart from that, the military also provided life line to them. Yet some Niger Delta militants who are agitating over the misuse of the oil in their communities are still languishing in jail while their travelers in crime are left off the hook.
It behoves on the police to recommence one of the easily recognized anti kidnap strategies which is the “Stop and search,” plus other strategies. The police cannot claim to be overwhelmed, since its leadership are not ready to imbibe the world known solution to insecurity in the communities, which is State police system. As kidnapping takes on new dimensions, the South East states are under political siege wherein the people usually embark on self inflicted kidnap popularly known as “Sit at home.” A politicaly infilicted dogma by a government sanctioned anti-people group known as the ‘Independent people of Biafra’ The activities of this anti people and government group need to be stopped by the governments of the five eastern states. Their activities is anti social, and dangerously Impedes the economy and political and social life’s of the people every Monday across the Eastern states. It is undemocratic and criminal to subject people to a ghost law which forces people to self impose kidnapping traits on themselves. The five South Eastern state governors need to urgently seek the approval of the national security adviser and later convene an emergency security summit where retired security sons and daughters of lgboland would come together and find a lasting solution to this nagging trend of this group. Nigeria is a very easy countries to supervised security wise. If all the security agencies, governments at state and local governments levels and the people can come together in agreement and decides that’s the country would be secured if the leaders would provide all the necessary tools for our security agencies. And all the government agencies like no national orientation to sensitize Nigerians effectively on how to behave When there is insecurity around them, by reporting every incidents to security agencies around them When there is national agreement to fight insecurity, all hands will be on deck if in the villages and townships are well protected the issue of insecurity will be a thing of the past.