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• Kidnappers, bandits, herdsmen on rampage, spreading agony, tears everywhere
By Henry Umahi
•Victims receiving treatment
Last Sunday, the parish priest of Saint Vincent de Paul Fier in Kwande, Shendam Diocese of Plateau State, Fr. Cornelius Nweke, confirmed the abduction of two Catholic priests, Frs. Kenneth Kanwa and Jude Nwachukwu.
It was gathered that the priests were kidnapped on Thursday last week by suspected gunmen, who whisked them to an unknown destination.
•Kankom attacked by herdsmen
Fr. Nweke enjoined all Catholics to pray for the release of the priests even as he urged all parishioners to disregard all rumours.
While the whereabouts of the priests remain unknown as their abductors have not made any contact, the location of the driver of the school bus in which school children and teachers of the Apostolic Faith Group of School, Emure-Ekiti were abducted last week Monday is known. The driver identified as Taye Rasaki, is in the land of the dead. He was killed by the kidnappers.
Those who regained freedom were five students and three teachers of the school.
•Priests kidnapped in Plateau
The gunmen had on Monday ambushed the bus conveying the school children and staff of the school back to their homes at Eporo on the road and whisked nine among the occupants away, leaving the bus on the road.
They, however, on Thursday, reduced the ransom to N15 million on Thursday for all the abductees, threatening to kill the victims if the money was not paid on time.
•Okemuo
The same same day, two traditional rulers were killed by suspected kidnappers in Ekiti State. The monarchs were said to be returning from a meeting in Irele-Ekiti when they were accosted and killed.
The traditional rulers were identified as Oba David Ogunsakin, the Elesun of Esun-Ekiti; and Oba Olatunde Olusola, the Onimojo of Omojola-Ekiti.
Meanwhile, the gunmen, who killed Oba Olusegun Aremu-Cole, Olukoro of Koro-Ekiti in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State and kidnapped his wife and other person last Thursday night have reduced the N100million ransom demand to N40 million.
•IGP Egbetokun
It was learnt that the gunmen reached out to the monarch’s family at the weekend for payment of the ransom, which they said they have reduced from N100million to N40 million before the victims would be released.
Oba Olusegun Aremu-Cole,was killed by gunmen in his palace last Thursday’s night, while his wife and another person were abducted.
For weeks, blood has been flowing in some communities in Plateau State.
Indeed, Nigeria has becoming a killing field. Kidnapping and killing have become the order of the day.
Public affairs analyst, Mazi Cyril Okemuo, said: “It is no longer news that there is high level insecurity in Nigeria. And insecurity has consequences. What begets insecurity is corruption.
•A victim
“As it stands today, governments at all levels in Nigeria are complicit. Over the years, most of our politicians have proven how immature they are in handling the affairs of state or nation-building.
Hard as our security agencies try to warn government and to defend and protect the territorial space of Nigeria, our leaders in government have all paid lip service to issues of security.”
Okemuo, who maintained that the reasons for the spate of attacks and abductions are too numerous to be mentioned here, said that the importance of security cannot be overemphasized.
Okemuo, who is also the chairman of G-Friends Thrift Society, further said: “We need not be told that security is a precondition for socio-economic development of any nation. Insecurity in Nigeria is multidimensional and needs to be dealt with through a combination of security measures, socio-economic development, and dialogue.
“It is also important for government and relevant stakeholders to work together to tackle the root causes of insecurity, which are corruption, ethno-religious tensions, economic disequilibrium and the presence of armed militia groups.
“Finding sustainable solutions to these challenges is crucial for the well-being of Nigeria as a country and its people. And this is the number one duty of government. People in government should face and leave politicking. It is annoying to hear people talking about 2027 now.
Last week, civil society groups, under the aegis of the Civil Society Joint Action Group, disclosed that 2,423 persons had been killed, while 1,872 others had been abducted since President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration.
The groups asked the President to declare a state of emergency on insecurity and prosecute the 400 sponsors of terrorism arrested under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a joint press conference, the groups decried the upsurge in bandits’ attacks, killings and abductions across the country, including the Federal Capital Territory.
The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative and Advocacy Centre, Auwal Rafsanjani, who spoke on behalf of the group, said insecurity had persisted over the last three administrations, with 24,816 Nigerians killed and 15,597 persons abducted in the last administration of President Buhari, between 2019 and 2023.
He said: “Endemic insecurity has persisted over the last three administrations, including that of President Buhari, who as a former military general had gained public trust to run as President, by promising to curb the then fledgling insecurity. Mass Atrocities Fatality Tracking across the country by Nigeria Mourns reveals that in 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.
“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. We are particularly concerned about the upsurge in abductions, noting that at least 230 incidents, in which multiple victims were involved, occurred within the first 2 weeks of January 2024 alone.”
The group asked the government to “declare a state of emergency on kidnapping and other forms of terrorism, uncover and prosecute those responsible for the misappropriation of the $460m earmarked for the provision of Closed-Circuit Television cameras in the Federal Capital Territory, and to create a register of victims of abductions and other forms of mass atrocities.”
The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy, Amnesty International Nigeria, Cedar Seed Foundation, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Global Rights, Rule of Law Advocacy and Accountability Centre, the Kukah Centre and Yiaga Africa were some of the groups that co-signed the recommendations.
