from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
Nigeria Bureau
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – KIDNAPPINGS for ransom are now described as the “new oil wells” in oil-rich Nigeria, as the scourge has spiraled out of control in the country.
While still lucrative, the oil industry has been on a decline, but abductions are on the rise and undoubtedly profitable to those behind them.
The perpetrators, who are part of banditry syndicates in Africa’s largest country by population – more than 230 million – have become so brazen that kidnappers can sometimes receive ransom to free victims, but don’t do so, and instead kill them and demand even more ransom to release the corpses.
The response to the crisis has become a double-edged sword to the government in that the payment of ransom is emboldening militants to kidnap more knowing they will cash in.
So blatant these perpetrators have become that they now even demand that the government post videos of the kidnappers online, celebrating in the army’s armoured vehicles, which they would have taken control of, usually after they get stuck in water-logged areas.
Such an incident happened in the Kwashabawa area of the Zurmi local government area in Zamfara state recently.
Officers were asked to withdraw from the vehicles to avoid being ambushed by bandits, who later reportedly seized an unspecified number of vehicles and military ammunition.
“This is not acceptable as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been giving great support to the Nigerian Armed Forces,” said Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Muhammed Matawalle.
He was suggesting that the soldiers should not have retreated.
However, this only is one of a number of incidents that have now turned the North West zone into the banditry epicentre of Nigeria. For years, the North East has been the most violent owing to the insurgency by Islamist groups.
On Sunday, Matawalle directed the Chief of Defence Staff and other military chiefs to relocate from the capital, Abuja, to Sokoto, which is the headquarters of the forces in the region. It focuses its operations on Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states.
“While in the North West, they (military chiefs) will supervise operations and ensure that Bello Turji and his bandits are flushed out,” the minister said.
Said to be in his 30s, Turji is the most-feared militant leader in Nigeria currently, after the killing of Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko Haram, in 2021, by a rival Islamist group.
“The time is up for these bandits and terrorists as increased and consistent operations will weaken all their bases,” Matawalle said.
Previous and current governments have issued similar assurances to residents but the reign of terror by kidnappers and other militants have escalated.
Political scientist, Charles Dickson, recalls how 10 years ago, he wrote about the scourge of kidnapping in Nigeria, warning that the country was on the verge of becoming the kidnap capital of the world.
“Unfortunately, my prophecy has come to pass,” he said.
“Today, kidnapping for ransom has become the new oil well for bandits, with the economy of organized crime thriving on the suffering of innocent Nigerians,” he said.
Dickson cited recent statistics that in the last year alone, over N10 billion (US$6,3 million) had been paid to kidnappers as ransom.
He described the figure as staggering and alarming.
“It’s a clear indication that the kidnapping business is booming,” said Dickson.
“The more ransom the government pays, the more criminals are emboldened to unleash mayhem on vulnerable populations across the country,” he added.
The political scientist lamented that even in cases where ransom is paid, victims were still not always released and were eventually killed and more ransom demanded to release the bodies.
According to reports, last year a total of 3 420 people were kidnapped in Nigeria, with the highest number of cases recorded in the North West. The Nigerian Police Force reported that it rescued 2 317 victims over the same period.
– CAJ News