It seems like nothing is being done about kidnapping

It seems like every day you pick up a Nigerian newspaper, there’s either a case of kidnapping, or that victims have been rescued. The victims cut across all races, tribes and even statuses, with the kidnappers immediately coming across as viciously dangerous. There is also the confusing aspect of the ones done in rural areas […]

It seems like every day you pick up a Nigerian newspaper, there’s either a case of kidnapping, or that victims have been rescued. The victims cut across all races, tribes and even statuses, with the kidnappers immediately coming across as viciously dangerous. There is also the confusing aspect of the ones done in rural areas across the nation. Where do they get their weapons? Where do they get supplied for the often-reported camps, said by victims to be deep in the hearts of forests or bushes? The questions are many, with few or no answers, but I will ask them any way.
What is the police doing? In all or most cases, they seem to take reactionary approach. There should be proactive measures, instead of grandstanding with theatrical language anytime an innocent or even a politically exposed person is kidnapped. Also, why do we have checkpoints instead of regular patrols? I think we all know the answer to that vey question. On the road which I know best, the Kaduna-Abuja highway, the cops on duty wait till it gets dark and extortion galore begins, lit by their crude and potentially hazardous kerosene lanterns.
The trouble-prone areas, thanks to the media, have been identified, so not too much work will be needed. Earlier this month, the Nigerian Senate approved a proposal to introduce a bill that will make kidnapping punishable by death, and commentators welcomed the decision. They argued that the death penalty will deter the increasing number of kidnappings in the country, but I don’t agree.
There is no credible evidence that the death penalty deters kidnapping, and even science has failed to find convincing evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than others. In 1970 the military government of General Gowon introduced the death penalty for armed robbery in response to the alarming increase of the crime in Nigeria, and here we are today.
When kidnapping for ransom reared its ugly head in the early 2000s, many Nigerians found it funny and even rationalised it. The reason was that only the expatriate staff of multinational oil companies were targeted. But the joke is on us, as the kidnappers began to kidnap rich, powerful people.
Government and community vigilante groups in the affected areas intensified efforts in combating the menace, but the kidnappers were no longer going to the homes of their targets but abducting their victims on highways, which is where my article began, and where I’m ending. It is my sincere hope that something is done about this alarmingly fast-growing menace.
Usman-Hassan wrote in from Tudun Wada, Kaduna.