Is Nigeria kidnappers’ republic?

History helps us to recall past incidents. It also remind us to avoid mistakes of the past. Indeed, lessons are embedded in history.

According to an ancient quote,  “history is a vast mirror reflecting our collective triumphs and mistakes” Also, Karl Marx a German philosopher, social and political theorist, economist, and revolutionary socialist said:  “History repeats itself first as tragedy second as farce.” It is on this premise that I recalls a national tragedy that took place in 1984. It was a tragedy that  jolted Nigerians and shook the world. It was the  state organized abduction carried out by Nigerian and Israeli intelligence agents.  The victim was drugged and kidnapped. The victim in question was the second republic Transport Minister, the late Umaru Dikko. He was kidnapped in London and about to be smuggled back to Nigeria inside a crate to face corruption charges. Another incident was the  first recorded criminal kidnapping for political leverage and publicity which occurred in 1998, when Niger Delta youths abducted eight foreign Chevron and Texaco oil workers. The abductors demanded jobs and an end to the criminal neglect of the oil- bearing region. There was equally the chilling kidnap incident that caused national and global outrage. It was the kidnap of  276 secondary school girls-Government Girls Secondary School, students,Chibok-in Chibok community,  Borno State in 2014 by the terrorist group,  Boko Haram. Unfortunately, till date many of the abductees cannot be accounted for or traced by our security forces.

The above mentioned abductions arguably watered the current spate of abductions for ransom in parts of the country. According to reports, kidnapping in Nigeria has evolved into a multi-billion dollar illicit enterprise run by highly organized criminal cartel. Marauding armed groups, including Fulani bandits, armed Fulani herders, separatists, and Islamist militant groups like Boko Haram, ISWAP, and Ansaru all engage in mass abductions to extort massive financial ransoms. Previously localised in the North West and North East regions, kidnapping for ransom is now a nationwide menace. Previously safer parts of southern Nigeria are now at the mercy of kidnappers.

The Nigerian security situation is pathetic. Some criminally minded  unemployed youths, criminal herders, bandits, militant religious extremists, separatists among other deviants have resorted to the use of  illegally acquired arms to perpetrate criminal acts. Kidnapping for ransom ranks high in their criminal enterprise. Although there is no accurate statistics of the the total sum paid to kidnappers in the past 16 years by families of kidnapped victims to secure their release, some security experts estimate that the criminal cartels behind the various abductions in the country may have received over 3 trillion Naira in ransom  payment. Tragically, the more funds the criminals receive as ransom, the more arms- sophisticated illicit arms- they acquire. In the Northeast and North West, Fulani bandits and terrorists whose main stock in trade is high profile abductions and mass abductions of helpless rural dwellers, often display in social media platforms, their acquired stockpile of sophisticated arms and heaps of currency paid to them as ransoms.

Aside the above mentioned criminal cartels, to some greedy Nigerians,  kidnapping has has  become the latest easiest way to make money. Low level kidnapping is today a new normal in Nigeria.Family members now kidnap one another for ransom, children kidnap their parents for ransom, workers kidnap  employees for ransom, employees kidnap their employers for ransom,members of the same religious group kidnap one another for ransom , students union members kidnap their lecturers for ransom, politicians organize the kidnapping of their opponents for ransom. It has gotten so worse that friends organize the kidnap of their friends for ransom. What is wrong with us? Nigeria has been tagged the kidnapping capital of the world and religious persons insist the situation is a sign of end of time. According to them, the holy book says when we see wickedness becoming so rampant in this degree we should know that the end is near. And they cite passages and verses in the Bible to buttress their claim. For example, according to 2 Timothy 3:1-3, in the last days perilous times shall come. … For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy…..

kidnapping leave a huge emotional and psychological impact on the victims. Survivors experience stress reactions including denial, impaired memory, shock, numbness, anxiety, guilt, depression, anger, and a sense of helplessness

Such reactions are understandable and normal. These are typical responses and generally decrease after a period of time. It is common for people’s reactions to vary from one individual to another.

According to research, kidnapped survivors often develop an unconscious bond to their captors and experience grief if their captors are harmed. They may also feel guilty for developing a bond. This is typically referred to as the Stockholm syndrome.

Kidnap survivors may also have feelings of guilt for surviving while others did not. It is important for survivors to recognize that these are usual human reactions to being held captive. But the question is why would a fellow human being be held captive because it is an  easy and fast way of making money? Such money is evil. Kidnappers should be made to suffer the consequences of their evil enterprise. For me, apart from paying with their lives,  I’m advocating that amputation of kidnappers as punishment for their crime and for easy identification by members of the public should be considered by the government. If the victim of the kidnapping dies in the den of the kidnappers, the kidnapper(s) when arrested should be sentenced to death. Human beings fear death and death sentence acts as deterrent for criminals.  I recall interviewing an armed robber that was sentenced to death in Lagos when I was reporting for the defunct National concord newspaper in 1983(see my second book, Dark Clouds; Confessions of Notorious Armed Robbers in Nigeria), the robber pleaded with me  to beg the government not to execute him. According to him , ”please help me beg the government not  to execute me”.

Similarly, I also advocate that arrested or surrendered kidnappers should be thorougly investigation by security agencies to determine how they acquired the firearms they use and trace who sold the arms to them. Such persons should be severely punished with life imprisonment .Not until the government shows a hard position against such criminality, then we are just scratching the surface.

Appreciation

On behalf of the Okezie family I wish to expres immense gratitude to everyone- friends , professional colleagues, brothers,  sisters, inlaws, associates, church members etc- who stood by me during the burial of my dear mother, the late Mrs Irene Mgbechikwere Okezie who departed at 98 and was laid to rest beside her husband on July 24th, 2026  .

I sincerely appreciate the massive love you showed, your words of  encouragement, your phone calls and your physical presence.

I thank most sincerely guests and sympathisers who came from outside  Abia, Lagos and Abuja to pay their last respect to my mother and commiserated with us, her children.

May God bless and pay you back your massive show of love.

–Elder Ben Okezie