Kidnapping Boom and Gloom

Kidnapping has formed part of the everyday security struggle of the average Nigerian. In farms, highways, places of learning and households, kidnapping incidents have become imminent, affecting anyone and everyone. In 2021, about 1,876 people were kidnapped in 640 attacks within the Nigerian turf, according to the Nextier SPD Violent Conflict Database. This includes expatriates. For profit purposes or as bargaining chips, many people, especially school children in recent times, have become vulnerable to kidnappers who act independently or belong to an elaborate terrorist organisation or criminal network. Daily reports and tracked data from the Nextier SPD Violent Conflict Database reflect the increasing vulnerability of school children in places of learning and the propensity of ransom kidnaps.

At least 1 billion have been demanded for the release of different batches of kidnap victims in 2021. For example, in February 2021, bandits demanded ₦800 million to release the kidnapped Kagara schoolboys. On 4th May 2021, 17 out of 23 kidnapped students of Greenfield university were released by bandits. Five of the students were later killed by the bandits in a bid to press home their demand of ₦100 million. The Nigerian government has either kept mum about the payments or denied it outrightly.

Nigeria’s kidnapping business is flourishing and may be funding other criminal activities. In the northeast, people are kidnapped by terrorists to demand for ransom, coerce membership or forced to partake in terrorist activities. The recurring trend in the bandits\’ rampaged northwest and northcentral zones is for ransom purposes and sometimes outright murder. In southern Nigeria, a case could be made for kidnapping for child trafficking, ritual killings, arbitrary demands, ransom payment and other unknown reasons. Regardless of the different reasons for the spate of kidnapping in Nigeria, it is a cankerworm that is impoverishing many victims, threatening the safety of schools and providing revenue opportunities for multiple non-state armed groups. According to a report, the cost of kidnapping in Nigeria is put at $18 million between 2016 and 2020.

Reactive efforts to secure the release of abducted victims will not only continue but keep the cycle of abduction and evasion running. The Nigerian government\’s efforts must be to make areas prone to kidnapping safe by improving security and employing intelligence gathering during hostage situations. If the security situation is improved, it will reduce the risks of abduction and the chances of ransom payment. The burden of Nigerian security agencies is to intensify aggressive measures to end the kidnapping spree currently prevalent in Nigeria.

From news reports, kidnapping gangs operate from hidden locations such as thick forests, abandoned houses and many ungoverned spaces. Nigeria must re-establish its government presence in rural areas and kidnappers’ hideouts. Internal and external border management protocols should be improved to monitor illegal points that aid criminals to evade capture. It is also time to pay more attention to community policing, which will help to bring government presence and security to inaccessible communities in the country. This should then include quasi-security frameworks, especially in rural areas, to complement overwhelmed security measures in those locations.

Technology also provides alternative measures to curb kidnapping. The Nigerian security agencies must work collectively through technology to identify locations where kidnapping victims are being held, track online conversations and apprehend criminals. The use of technology will also aid other securitisation measures of security organisations in Nigeria. The Nigerian government must be proactive rather than reactive in implementing sustainable solutions to end the kidnapping boom and the gloom that trails it.