Terror in Transit

As Nigeria strives to contain security threats nationwide, certain aspects of insecurity have become prominent. Incidents of highway abductions make headlines from the length and breadth of the country. Before now, abductions were worrisome and significantly associated with ritualists. At the same time, the Niger delta militants saw it as a means to push their agitations against the Nigerian state. However, with the country’s deteriorating security, abductions have become more frequent, most occurring on the highways. In 2022, the Nextier Violent Conflict Database recorded 42 kidnapping cases with 156 victims on Nigerian highways. The kidnapping tally stood at three, with 12 victims in the first two months of 2023. Moreover, many kidnapping cases are also largely underreported or documented.

Suspected herdsmen, bandits, separatist agitators and other violent non-state actors have weaponised highway abductions to obtain ransom payments. The Abuja-Kaduna highway arguably remains a notorious route for kidnappings for ransom. In May 2022, bandits abducted over twenty passengers along the Abuja Kaduna road. Security agents have foiled other incidents, but many kidnapping operations have seen the bandits succeed. Operation Puff Adder and operation thunder strike scored a victory, amongst many others, against the bandits in June 2022, killing one bandit in the ensuing crossfire.

The modus operandi of hijack, abduct, ransom, and release have been used in most cases, although in some unfortunate instances, victims have been killed. On February 1^st 2023, four victims abducted along the Bauchi-Jos highway regained freedom after a 10-million-naira ransom payment. Thus, the promise of hefty ransom payments motivates perpetrators of the heinous act. At the same time, using military and police uniforms through the tactic of deceit has been employed in the conduct of operations by bandits, especially in the South West and North West zones.    

Other regions in Nigeria, like the South East, have been plagued with highway abductions adding to the existing volatility. The Enugu-Port Harcourt highway attack in August 2022 led to the abduction of 30 passengers leaving many others injured. These occurrences have created a security dilemma among residents in the area while passengers dread plying such dangerous routes.

Attempts at addressing the scourge of abductions for ransom by bandits along the highway have been unable to yield desired results. Calls by President Buhari for increased surveillance and patrol along highways have been ineffective in stopping the incidences of kidnapping. Nonetheless, with proper implementation by security forces, increased surveillance can mitigate incidences of highway abduction. Additionally, identifying the hotspots for these kidnappings should serve as a call to action for the security agencies for an increased presence in these areas. An increased presence cannot only prevent and dissuade terrorist attacks on motorists but also instil some sense of security in travellers plying such routes.

Furthermore, recognising that a joint force has proven more effective in addressing this issue should lead to more collaboration between Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), the military and the police for safer highways. Highway kidnappings for ransom, as one of the many security challenges in Nigeria, require elaborate and evidence-driven solutions to mitigate the losses and trauma victims in the kidnapping zones face. The enabling factors for highway abductions emanate from the dilapidated state of the highways and low-security presence. Concerted efforts at highway maintenance, especially at identified hotspots, could mitigate occurrences of highway abductions. A 2021 study of dangerous highways in Nigeria recommends using tracked data of incidents to inform security responses and efforts to curb the enablers of highway attacks.