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KIDNAPPING: IS THERE AN END IN SIGHT? WHAT’S THE WAY OUT?

Until a few years ago, kidnapping was something people of Nigeria only read about in novels. The escalating incidence is no news to many. Despite increased awareness however, the rate at which such incidents occur is very alarming.

The new wave of abductions in Nigeria remains a security challenge, in fact, calling for an unusual attention by the authorities. No week elapses without one or more taking place somewhere in the country and sometimes with fatalities.
Although there is no official study that has documented the link between the harsh realities of poverty, hunger, starvation, and joblessness, experts say the growing trend may not be unconnected with such factors.

So how did Kidnapping assume this dangerous height in Nigeria?

In its report on kidnapping in Nigeria for the period of January to June 2012, ASI Global Response, a leading response consultant in the field of kidnap for ransom, extortion and hostage-taking, out of the reported kidnappings that occurred in Nigeria, 50 per cent of the victims were businessmen, businesswomen or their family members.

“The second most targeted group in 2012 has been local rulers, politicians or their family members, at 24 per cent of reported cases. Doctors and priests/pastors have accounted for nine and four per cent of victims, respectively. Most abduction occurs while the victims are travelling on roads, although they often take place at victims’ homes or their places of work. The average initial ransom demand in 2012 has been US$490,000 with settlements averaging US$50,000. It should be noted, however, that ransom figures are rarely reported and these averages may be on the low side due to lack of data,” states the report.

Kidnapping first captured people’s consciousness in February 2006, when militants in the Niger-Delta started abducting foreign oil workers, ostensibly to draw attention to the criminal neglect and privations suffered by the oil producing communities of the region.
Most of the early victims were usually set free after a few days in captivity. But, with time, when the potential for quick money with relatively lower risk became apparent, kidnapping soon blossomed into a “lucrative business.”

With that realisation also came a change in approach, the targets shifting from foreigners to practically anybody – the rich, the poor, government officials, private individuals, professionals, octogenarians and toddlers; no discrimination. Cases where the main targets have been missed, their parents, wives, children or other relations have been taken. They are picked up and only breathe the air of freedom once more weary after the ransoms (CULLED FROM: CENTRAL POST)