Kidnapping: Political?

Ransom kidnap has become one of Nigeria’s latest security problems. The menace which used to be prominent in the Southeast and South-south regions in the past, has intensified in the other parts of the country. For instance, the Abuja/Kaduna expressway has gained notoriety for incessant kidnappings.  Katsina, Kaduna and Zamfara states are competing for numbers with nefarious bandits’ onslaughts.

Although there is an audacity of kidnapping sweeping through the nation, historically, it is not a Nigerian condition. Columbia and some other South American countries were regarded as the kidnapping capitals of the world at different points in the past, but they have been able to tackle it effectively.  Nigeria’s Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo, while speaking to Nigerians during his visit to the US, says the reported cases of kidnapping in the country are politically motivated and overly exaggerated. He revealed this while speaking to Nigerians during his visit to the US.
Juxtaposing the Vice-President’s stance with the indiscriminate abductions across the nation, there is no clear-cut connection considering that the menace has always been on the list of Nigeria’s security problems. As he rightly said \’kidnapping is not entirely new\’, but he still claims that the spate of kidnapping in the country is politically motivated. Interestingly, at some point during the administration of Goodluck Jonathan, some of the security problems were also said to be political. It appears to have become a culture for sitting governments to play the politically motivated card as a means of excuse or exoneration instead of finding lasting solution to the problems.

Arrest the Kidnap Menace advocates for policing to be strengthened with intelligence gathering and creation of a national crime data as strategies for curbing the waves of kidnapping. The national crime database, for instance, would have helped to authenticate the reported cases of kidnap the Vice-president presumes to be exaggerated.