President Buhari’s second term alone (2019 to 2023), … at least 24,816 Nigerians lost their lives, and at least 15,597 persons were abducted.
“This alarming trend has continued despite President Bola Tinubu’s assurance at the beginning of his presidency in May 2023 to tackle insecurity. It has now been eight months since President Tinubu took his oath of office and yet, things have failed
to improve.
Our tracking shows at least 2,423 people have been killed in mass atrocities-related
incidents and at least 1,872 persons were abducted since the beginning of President Tinubu’s administration till January 26, 2024.”
He expressed concern “about the upsurge in abductions, noting that at least 230 incidents, in most of which multiple victims were involved, occurred within the
first two weeks of January 2024 alone.” How kidnappers operate Across the country, kidnappers are adopting various tactics.
They visit homes both in the day and night to abduct their victims. The kidnapping and killing of Folashade Ariyo, and Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar recently, for instance,
were stand-out cases. Members of their families were also abducted. Kidnappers also waylay people on the highways and march them into the bushes. Abuja-Kaduna highway has over the years, gained notoriety as kidnappers’ operating bay. Lagos-Ibadan
highway, Enugu-Onitsha, Enugu-Makurdi, East-West road, Ogoja-Calabar highways, as well as Zaria-Katsina road are parts of the nation’s unsafe motorways.
Virtually all the highways in the country have recorded various kidnap incidents and bandits’ onslaughts.
On Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, recently, the Lagos State PDP chairman, Philip Aivoji, was kidnapped while returning to Lagos.
Days after that road abduction story broke, kidnappers struck on Ekiti road, killing two traditional rulers. One allegedly escaped, while another was unaccounted for.
About the same time, kidnappers allegedly took a school bus full of school children and their teachers also in Ekiti State.
News of kidnap incidents and killings also emerged from Imo and Plateau states, and many other parts of the country.
Inside Abuja and even Lagos nowadays, kidnappers have upped their act; some operate in Sienna cars, some in mini-buses.
They swoop on innocent persons, charging down the street, haul them into awaiting vehicles and zooming off to unknown destinations.
Sometimes, they disguise themselves as passengers riding in public transport vehicles. They pick up innocent persons, take them to unknown places and either demand ransom or use them for rituals.
Whichever way the kidnappers come, their act does not sound amusing to anyone.
Police response Following the spate of kidnappings particularly in Abuja, the Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, recently said that the Force had deployed a Special Intervention Squad (SIS) to tackle the menace and also across the states, our correspondents spoke to residents who gave graphic details of the level of kidnapping going on in them. 15 out of 23 Benue LGAs under siege
Out of the 23 local government areas, over 15 have been affected by insecurity of all kinds ranging from banditry, kidnapping to herdsmen attacks, among others.
According the Security Secretary of Guma LGA, Mr Christopher Waku, areas such as Apa, Agatu, Guma, Gwer West, Logo, parts of Buruku, Tarka and Ukum
LGAs have been affected.
Our correspondent also reports that Otukpo, Obi, Ogbadibo, Okpokwu have also had their fair shares of the criminality.
Waku disclosed that most of the kidnappers operating in the state were insiders except in areas like Gwer West LGA where herders were the chief perpetrators of the crime.
How Benue kidnappers abduct victims
According Sunday Sun investigation, the kidnappers mostly waylay their victims on a lonely bad road from where they take them into the bush. That was the treatment they handed out to the caretaker chairman of Ukum council, Rev Haanongon Gideon. Haanongon was kidnapped in the early hours of Wednesday, January 13, this year, alongside his personal assistant, driver and
police orderly on Katsina Ala- Zaki Biam road while they were on their way to the burial of the
Ter Katsina Ala, Chief Fezaanga Wombo. Corroborating the story, Waku said:
“He was with another traditional ruler who was coming from behind. They were also stopped and taken into the bush.”
Our correspondent gathered that the kidnappers also prey on farmers, unsuspecting villagers and travellers and by hiding in the bushes waiting to swoop on them especially at the bad portions of the road. Several of such incidents have taken place on Naka-Makurdi road in the state.
Also, the kidnappers trace and pick up their victims from their homes. That way, herdsmen militia have killed hundreds of residents even in their sleep.
Benue victims narrate their ugly experiences
A victim, Dr Obadiah Etito, who was kidnapped in May 2023, narrated his experience in the hands of his abductors.
Obadiah, a medical doctor with the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Makurdi, said that he had set out to see a friend in Taraba State, hoping to return and attend
to some patients.
“So, my boys came and picked me up around 8:30 a.m in Makurdi; we were going to
Takum in Taraba State.
“When we got to Zaki-Biam, in Ukum LGA, we didn’t know
our way again; somebody was just trying to direct us. But as we took the next turned, all we saw were three boys on a motorcycle.
Each one of them wielded an AK47 rifle. Next, three others joined in, each also carrying an Ak47 rifle.
“Before we knew it, five others came with Ak47 too. After they took my wallet, phone and
ID card, they blindfolded us and ordered us to enter into the car. They drove for about 15-20 kilometers to an unknown place where they kept us for 10 days;
they were beating me seriously, demanding ransom of N30 million from my wife,” Etito
narrated.
He recalled that he was beaten to the point he could no longer feel his legs.
But he was luckily rescued alongside nine other victims who had been held captive over time, including women.
Another victim, Mr Moses Ogaga, a journalist, was kidnapped alongside his 13-yearold
nephew, Godbe Ogah, on September 17, 2023 at Ugbokolo,
Okpokwu LGA.
Ogaga was held captive for four days and was only freed after he paid N7.5 million to his captors as ransom. The kidnappers initially asked for N100 million, but after an intense negotiation, he paid N7.5 million – N5 million for his release and N2.5 million to
free his brother.
Ogaga said that the incident happened on September 17, while he was on his way from Anambra State where he went to attend a summit.
He recalled that the hoodlums numbering six, with sophisticated weapons abducted him with other passengers in a Benue Links vehicle at about 6:00p.m at Ugbokolo in Okpokwu LGA of the state.
“At first, I thought they were highway robbers because most times, when highway robbers attack, they are mostly concerned about phones and electronics. So,
I was trying to protect and hide my laptop bag where I kept my cameras, phones and other things.
But unfortunately, they bashed the bus, started shooting sporadically and forced us to alight. “If not because of my brother, I would have escaped because three other persons and I had an opportunity to escape. But seeing my brother, I didn’t know what
would happen being an underage person of about 13 years returning to school. I had no option than to just follow them; they hit me with a gun on the spinal cord,” Ogaga narrated.
Benue residents adopt self help methods Most communities in the state said that they were collaborating with the security agencies to secure their areas while some said
they were helpless.
A community leader in Logo LGA, Mr Joseph Anawa, lamented the insecurity situation in
Sankara axis of the state, saying: “We are handicapped. The communities have limited commitment towards solving or alleviating the insecurity in the area.”
He said that the communities lacked the financial capacity to empower the youths to fight
insurgency, kidnapping and banditry that are bedeviling the people.
“Even our local vigilantes go about with sticks and Dane guns.
Dane guns use gun powder, and for some local ammunition when you fire once, it takes you almost 30 minutes to prepare for another round, whereas the enemies have assault guns like AK47. By the time you are ready, you have already been shot dead.”
Security operatives unhelpful to us
Anawa also lamented that security operatives had not allowed free operations on the side of the communities, explaining that when they saw the locals with the
Dane guns or machetes they usually apprehend them.
“They question you; they ask ‘why are you going about with a Dane gun’ while our adversaries carry sophisticated weapons without questioning. So, this has made
it difficult for communities to do anything about insecurity.”
Anawa insisted that it’s the responsibility of the government to give the people protection, and called on both the federal and the state governments to rise up and defend the people. He added that where the Federal Government failed to do so, they should allow the states to create their own security machineries like the state police to fight the menace.
In Guma LGA, the security secretary said that they were carrying out enlightenment
campaigns to ensure peace and security of the residents.
“We are encouraging the people not to take law into their hands. Even if someone had
destroyed your property, you need to report to the authorities and security agencies. So, we are dialoguing and sensitising the communities.
“The community is also working with OPWS, the police and volunteer guards. They are part of the security architecture we have in the LGs, and they have been very helpful,” he said.
He decried the recent influx of herdsmen in his area, saying: “We have written a security report a week ago, to the state government alerting it of the influx of herdsmen and their cattle into Guma and other parts of the state.
“The law against open grazing is there; it is now in their court to direct for enforcement before the cropping season begins to ensure the safety of the people.”
Meanwhile, Tiv Area Traditional Council, (TATC), met in the penultimate week in the Tor Tiv’s palace in Gboko, and expressed worry over the return of heavily-armed herdsmen with their cattle running into thousands.
The Council presided over by its President, and Tor Tiv, Orcivirigh Prof James Ayatse, wondered why the herdsmen had returned with more dangerous weapons such as AK49 and grazing recklessly, even when the Open Grazing Prohibition Law of the state was still in force.
The Council urged the state government to direct relevant security agencies in the state to rise up to their task of defending the innocent and poor citizens by enforcing the anti-open grazing law of the state.
Imo monarchs victims of new kidnapping trend
Kidnapping resurfaced again in Imo State recently with the abduction of traditional rulers, even after the tempo was believed to have gone down.
Lately, for instance, two prominent traditional rulers were abducted. First was Eze Joe Benz Ochulor who was killed in his hometown.
Then, the immediate past Chairman of the Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Samuel Ohiri, was abducted by gunmen on January 6, also in his hometown, Orodo, in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state. Unlike Eze Ochulor, Ohiri paid ransom to free himself.
The new trend of kidnapping now takes places more in the rural villages where some perceived Fulani militia operate.
The flash point are Avu, Ndegwu, Irete, Obinze, Umuokani, Amakohia-Ubi, Orogwe, all in
Owerri-West LGA and some parts of Isiala-Mbano.
How Imo residents can fight back
The President General of Ndegwu community, Oluchukwu Iroegbulam, believes that the
menace could be fought if the youths of the various communities form vigilance groups to protect themselves and work in synergy with the law enforcement
Agencies.
He also urged the police and other security agencies to help send their patrol teams to the affected areas to comb the forests where some of the hoodlums are
believed to be operating from. Kaduna Central,
Southern Kaduna most affected In Kaduna State, every stakeholder is sorely worried about the incessant kidnapping and killings still going on in the state.
The state governor, Uba Sani, has been lamenting over the attacks and killings by bandits in the state.
Most affected areas in the state are the Central and South Kaduna senatorial zones.
Few years ago, bandits imposed a N10 million levy on farmers in Birnin-Gwari communities in Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area of the state.
They tasked the farmers to either pay the fine or forget farming that