Stopping kidnappers in their tracks

In just two weeks, eight persons were seized in Ekiti State, the victims often being civil servants, medical personnel and lecturers, who can hardly afford the hefty monetary ransom money that their captors usually demand.The political chaos that engulfed the state since last year notwithstanding, Governor Ayodele Fayose sent an urgent plea to the Inspector […]

In just two weeks, eight persons were seized in Ekiti State, the victims often being civil servants, medical personnel and lecturers, who can hardly afford the hefty monetary ransom money that their captors usually demand.
The political chaos that engulfed the state since last year notwithstanding, Governor Ayodele Fayose sent an urgent plea to the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, who despatched a special squad there.  A Few days later, 10 of the victims, including an 11-year-old boy, were set free, though there is some dispute over how this was achieved. The victims’ relations claimed that some ransom payment was made to the kidnappers, but the police command insisted it was the special operation that rescued them. The police said arrests were made, while normality had returned to the community.
There is however no sense of normality in the case of Kogi State, where the incident of kidnapping is intensifying. There, about 14 people were reportedly kidnapped in the state between in the first five months of this year. The victims include seven expatriates, an American missionary and six Chinese nationals. 
There are also the cases of a state high court judge, Justice Samuel Obayomi, and Mr Steven Mayaki, the state’s Commissioner of Lands, who were kidnapped last month. The judge’s police orderly, Corporal Mustapha Musa, was killed by the kidnappers in the process. In protest against the abduction of the judge, the Kogi State chapter of the Judiciary Staff Union forced the closure of courts within its jurisdiction for three days with effect from June 3.
The criminals demanded N150 million as precondition for releasing the judge, revealing the motive in this case. Others may engage in the practice for varying reasons, like political blackmail and ritual. A few others, mostly young people, use it as prank to extort money from their parents.  But each one is fraught with risks and is inexcusable.
Many states have introduced legislation, including prescribing the death penalty, to curb the trend. Governments in the South East and South-South in particular vigorously apply such rules, extending them to include the demolition of houses of suspects known to be owned by or have harboured kidnappers.
 These efforts have contributed to a general decline of the crime, but kidnapping is still a growing threat in a number of states. 
 State governors in the South East and other stakeholders, through various summits, also introduced many measures that make the affected areas unsafe for potential kidnappers to operate in.
But the criminals only changed bases, moving to states like Kogi and Ekiti where governance issues have created the environment for them to ply their dangerous trade with little fear of the law catching up with them.
This is why a holistic approach to ending it completely is desirable, instead of the current individual approach by state governments. At the level of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, such an all-encompassing decision could be taken and mechanisms put in place to enforce it across the states. All the three tiers of government should provide good governance, the absence of which has often been cited as being responsible for laying the foundation for rising discontent among the people and, if left unaddressed, eventually deviant behaviours. Investments in socio-economic programmes would relieve disaffection and tension that often lead to criminal activity.
 Kidnapping for financial gains or whatever motive is a crime that should be contained quickly before it becomes the norm in the country.