If the current gale of kidnapping around Nigeria is anything to by, then it is far from a hyperbole to state that we are back to the days of the jackals. Whereas some two decades ago profit- kidnap of oil company workers in the Niger Delta was prevalent, this nefarious activity now seems to have assumed a terrifying status with some semblance of professionalism.
From Bayelsa to Abia, Delta to Imo; Ogun to Lagos, Ondo and several other states in the country, kidnappers seem to be having a field day, targeting and picking prominent people and their relations.
In the past few years, at least two monarchs, an erstwhile Finance Minister, a former deputy governor, journalists and several others have lost their liberty, albeit temporarily to these criminals. Reveling in the millions of naira in ransom, many of the kidnappers now become fiendish, holding their victims incommunicado, or take their lives, even after receiving seven digit payment from their relations.
They are reportedly so organized that they have in their gang medical doctors, caterers and even security backing. While it is electrifying to know that the police may have crime-mapped the country, identifying the prevalence of some criminal activities in particular geographical areas, its ability to either prevent or respond effectively to kidnap cases is suspect.
Safe for the Donu Kogbara incident in Port Harcourt and that of Kehinde Baruwa, the Zonal Manager of the Nigerian Breweries Limited in Afikpo, Ebonyi State, we can say with certainty that the police have been rather flatfooted in handling of cases of abduction in the country. The Anti-Kidnapping and Special Anti-Robbery Squad, in Abakaliki had trailed and killed one of the criminals at the point of picking the ransom, arrested other gang members and secured Baruwa’s release.
Of particular interest here was the case of the septuagenarian former Finance Minister and one time Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, held captive for four days by Fulani herdsmen in Ondo State. The kidnappers demanded for N100million before he could regain freedom.
Much as it was exciting to know that the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, relocated to Ondo State in response to a presidential directive to effect the release of the elder statesman, not only was the manner of handling the matter very unprofessional, the bandying of half truths or outright falsehood on the issue of ransom payment was even absurd.
On the one hand, much as Arase claimed Chief Falae’s regained his freedom without paying any ransom to the kidnappers, his family members put a lie to this as they revealed that the “police did not have any input in Baba’s release.”
The family said it would be very unfair to give any kudos to the police over Chief Falae’s release, stating that if they “relied on police to rescue Baba and ignored his abductors on the ransom they demanded, by now we would have been telling another story. But we thank God our Baba came back alive.”
Not only did the Falaes assert that the police played no role in the hostage release negotiation, it was said that while Arase was combing Ondo area, the kidnappers returned Chief Falae to his farm at Ilado where he was abducted in the first place – a version Chief Falae confirmed when he reunited with his admirers.
The unimpressive handling of Chief Falae’s case was akin to the shoddy manner the abduction of Dr. Femi Omisore, a lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and others in Ekiti State last May was treated. The kidnappers demanded N70million and only released the victims to their family members after a negotiated figure was paid.
Again the police had denied making any payment. We recognize the policy within security circles to play down on figures, especially of casualties during disasters and even ransom paid. The purpose is not far-fetched – dousing apprehension and atmosphere of insecurity, and avoid giving the impression that crime pays after all.
But we hasten to add that the whole world is aware that compromise is part of negotiations. Also, a major component of contemporary hostage-release negotiation methods is payment of ransom- sometimes as baits.
The fact is that such currencies are often tagged and tracked, making tracing and arrest of the criminal an easy job. While one cannot rule out the fact that the nation’s security agencies parade several officers and men with proficiency and professionalism in cracking these criminals, it is high time such men are deployed to various commands in the country to facilitate quick response.
Of equal importance is the protection of executives and statesmen as well as the need to stimulate the economy such that it could accommodate the nation’s growing army of unemployed youths.
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