Hardball

When bandits-cum-kidnappers struck at Greenfield University, Kaduna State, on April 20, it was yet another terrible evidence of the rising cases of kidnapping for ransom across the country. Significantly, it also showed how much money kidnappers dream of making from their evil activity. In this particular case, they demanded N800 million.

The invaders kidnapped more than 20 students. Tragically, three days after, the bodies of three of the abductees, a male and two females, were found at a location close to the university.

“We are still in shock,” a parent of one of the abducted students was quoted as saying after the bodies were found. “We did not expect the bandits would resort to killing our children because they had contacted us and demanded ransom.”

The concerned parents were negotiating with the kidnappers when the students were killed. “They called us directly and individually, but they demanded a collective ransom of N800 million,” according to the quoted parent.  “So, we met on the school premises and we called them trying to negotiate the ransom, but they insisted on the N800 million. We pleaded with them that the amount they were asking for was too much and beyond our power, but we never imagined or expected they were going to be so cruel and resort to killing our children.”

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According to a study, more than $18 million was paid as ransom to kidnappers in the country from 2011 to 2020, and the greater part of the payment was from 2016 to 2020 when about $11 million was paid. In the local currency, these are huge figures indeed. It shows that kidnapping for ransom is a thriving business, albeit an evil one. Sadly, it is even regarded as a “growth industry.”

It is disturbing that some analysts forecast that kidnap-for-ransom cases will increase in the country as a result of increased unemployment.  This is a worrying scenario, considering that Nigeria already has one of the world’s highest rates of kidnap-for-ransom cases.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Kayode Fayemi, recently attributed the country’s security challenges partly to its 33 percent unemployment rate. The country’s difficult socio-economic conditions do not justify kidnapping operations, but show why the authorities should urgently pursue improved socio-economic conditions to discourage kidnapping for ransom.

Predictably, those who kidnap for ransom are inspired by the idea of getting rich quick, which is why their activity is described as “economic kidnapping.”  The recurrent evil suggests that they are unlikely to stop unless they are stopped.