Kidnapping has become a fare. Hardly a day passes without one important person or the other being kidnapped. The kidnapping of Prof Kamene Okonjo, mother of Minister of Finance Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on December 9 really brought the pathetic issue home. How should the country tackle this menace? It is by confronting it head-on, creating jobs, say lawyers in this report by John Austin-Unachukwu, Adebisi Onanuga and Precious Igbonwelundu.
Kidnapping is on the rise. The biggest cases involve the rich, their wives or their children. The kidnappers either call directly or allow their victims to talk to their spouses, parents or relations, sending a clear message of what would befall the victims if their demands are not met. Usually, they demand huge sums of money as ransom.
Kidnapping at least, as a business in the sense it is now known started about 2006, when the militant groups in the Niger Delta, especially the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), resorted to taking foreign employees hostage for the failure of their employers – the oil companies – to develop the region.
In the beginning, there were few cases of kidnapping. But today, the number of kidnappings is rising by the day. And going by the trend then, most of their victims were released unharmed after their conditions were met, but usually not for monetary gains. Kidnapping then was accompanied with destruction of oil installations by the militants to prove their point. But today, the reverse is the case. With the growing unemployment and the penchant to make quick money, many a youth have formed gangs and made kidnapping the order of the day with security forces appearing incapacitated to stem the trend.
The act which then was restricted to the Niger Delta region has spread to the various parts of the country, with one primary objective, the exchange of the victim for ransom. The fact that the criminals now go after the rich has lent credence to the view that nobody is untouchable given the Gestapo-like manner the abductions are carried out. An ‘industry’ has sprung up around kidnapping in Nigeria, with the abductors negotiating the ransom money with those ready to pay.
The industry has grown to a level that there have been reported cases of the involvement of traditional rulers in the crime, particularly, in the East. Given their involvement and that of some unscrupulous officers in the kidnapping trade, it is understandable why some victims’ relatives look outside the police in trying to bring such nightmares to an end. There have been cases of several millions of Naira being paid by relations to kidnappers to get their victims released without being hurt. As stated earlier, recent development in kidnapping has shown a trend that cover every strata of the society.
The victims have remained prominent members of the society, including the elderly, Nollywood stars, bankers, politicians, and parents of journalists perceived to be rich, among others.
A few days ago, Bukola, the wife of Laolu Akins, and the wife of the former Managing Director of FirstBank, Bernard Longe, were kidnapped in Benin. They were only able to regain their freedom after ransoms were paid.
The latest occurred on Sunday, December 9. Prof. Mabel Kamene Okonjo, mother of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Prof. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was kidnapped by gunmen numbering about 10, from the palace of her husband, Prof. Obi Chukwuka Okonjo, the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku, in Aniocha South Local Government Drea of Delta State. This has brought to the fore the high-profile kidnappings in the country.
The kidnapping of the 82-year-old professor of sociology attracted condemnation across the country such that the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, ordered security agencies to arrest her abductors. Within the hour, heavily armed security operatives, comprising soldiers, police and Customs, descended on Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State and cordoned off the road leading to the palace.
The security in the state was such that all exits were manned by stern-looking soldiers who conducted searches on motorists. A detachment of soldiers from the 4th Mechanised Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Benin, led by Brig. Gen. Ubi Umahi, who is the Commander, was also deployed to beef up security across the state.
Less than three days after, reports had it that over 65 persons had been arrested in connection with the kidnapning. Prof. Okonjo regained freedom on Friday, December 14, but it was not clear if the ransom of N200 million was paid. Many reasons were adduced for the kidnapning of Prof. Okonjo.
While some ascribed it to the ongoing probe in the oil sector, there were those who gave it political undertones. As the nation was yet to recover from that incident, it was again told of the kidnapping of Mrs. Titilola Rotimi, the wife of the former Military Governor of the defunct Western Region, General Oluwole Rotimi (rtd), in Ibadan.
Accordimg to a report, she was abducted last Monday, December 10, from her company, OAK Logistics Limited, Ibadan by some gunmen who whisked her away at about 6.30pm.
They have demanded N200m as ransom from the family. She was yet to be released as at Sunday, December 17. A research company on security, ASI Global, said in its report that 50 per cent of those kidnapped this year have been businessmen/women, traditional rulers, politicians or their family members.
The report indicated that abductors look out for lapses in security arrangements and strike in places where they are least expected. Usually, there are no prior warnings.
Expectedly, kidnapping has been totally condemnation all over the country. The Niger Delta Youth Movement (NDYM) in a statement signed by its president and secretary, Messrs Godspower Odenema and Moses Omo-Ikirodah, in reaction to the kdnapning of Prof, Okonjo, said: “It is with the highest indignation that the National Executive Council and the entire members of the Niger Delta Youth Movement (NDYM) in the states of the Niger Delta, condemn the kidnap of the mother of the Federal Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Nigerian Economy, Professor Kamene Okonjo.
“This is very bad and it is the worst way of paying Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala back for the very good works she is doing for Nigeria.”
Another group, The Peoples Movement, also condemned the kidnap, describing it as “barbaric and unreasonable.”
The organization in a statement signed by its Director of Communications, Mrs. Ibifuro Tatua said it was disgusted at the “Gestapo-like manner in which the kidnappers went about the incident.”
In reaction to the abduction of Titilola Rotimi, the Afenifere has expressed disgust over lapses in the security in the country. The pan-Yoruba socio-political group, challenged President Goodluck Jonathan to rise up to the chyallenge and act fast to stem the spate of insecurity and wanton destruction of lives and property or face the possibility of hoodlums completely taking over the country.
The Secretary-General of the group, Bashorun Seinde Arogbofa, said the rate at which kidnappers abduct prominent Nigerians and the Boko Haram menace have not only put the lives of people at risk, but also scared away prospective investors.
Lawyers spoken to on the resurgence of kidnapping have blamed the high unemployment rate for the rise in kidnapping. They include Chief Felix Fagbohungbe, Fred Agbaje, Mr Rotimi Jacobs, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) and Chijioke Emeka. They described condemned kidnapping.
To Fagbohungbe, kidnapping is a new dimension in crime. He said the act “is very very embarrassing to the nation. We have been having cases of armed robbery, Boko Haram and now kidnapping, and it is spreading very fast throughout the country.”
Jacobs said it is a reflection of the state of insecurity, adding “the issue is poverty and ignorance which show the state of our economy.”
Fagbohungbe argued that the existing laws are sufficient to stem kidnapping. His words: “There is no need to enact any new law before we can achieve anything. We have sufficient laws in the country to combat kidnapping. It can be done within the Terrorism Act. The making of a new law to curb it is just a fire brigade approach. If they create jobs, once they are busy working and they are earning income, certainly they would not go into it again.
“The only law they should make is to create jobs. When they create jobs, that should be sufficient to curb it. If there is a heavy punishment for kidnapping, many people would be scared. It would reduce the act, but not exterminate it. If there is heavy punishment for that, like treating them as if they carry cocaine or a case of murder, of course, kidnappers would be scared.”
He suggested that kidnapping should be made an offence and included in the Terrorism Act. “It might also help to stem it because it affects and threaten the security of the nation and government must look into it with expediency.”
He flayed the government for the way it has been responding to the incidences of terrorism in the country, saying it has not done enough. “They should not wait until somebody very important is kidnapped. When the mother of Okonjo-Iweala was kidnapped, they deployed all security apparatuses. They deployed the military, the police and other security agencies. It must not be like this. The wife of General Rotimi has been kidnapped for about a week now. They have not deployed the soldiers, the police and other security agencies to look for her. This selective action of the government should be stopped,” Fagbohungbe said.
Agbaje argued that there is no short cut in the fight against kidnapping and terrorism. “We have to go back to the statusquo; and what is the statusquo? Government must begin to address aggressively, and give priority to the wellbeing of the people. That is, welfare and security of the citizens as constitutionally enjoined.
“The governmental prodigality without anything to show for, in terms of employment, is a sure way of encouraging terrorism and kidnapping,” he said, adding that: “It is this choking lifestyle that encourages some citizens who have no means of getting a meal a day to resort to kidnapping.”
He said there was no law anywhere in the world that can perfectly tackle all crimes, particularly kidnapping and terrorism. What needs to be done, apart from existing legislations, is the law enforcement agencies must be up and doing by being proactive. How many of our security agents know the basic laws against terrorism and kidnapping? How do you expect such security officers who do not know basic existing laws to implement same? It is obvious you cannot give what you do not have, he said.
Although death sentence is becoming an anathema in the world, he said the situation in Nigeria deserves special attention and death sentence should act as a deterrent.
According to him, “The rate at which terrorism and kidnapping are being practised by hoodlums show clearly that mere imprisonment is not enough deterrent but death sentence will serve.”
He observed that the number of deaths arising from kidnapping even after ransom has been paid is also on the increase.
“As such, to stem the tide, those arrested must be prosecuted and if convicted should be sentenced to death because they have taken lives. So, why should they live when they also take lives?”
Jacobs lamented that we had always made kidnapping a discourse without addressing it. “In other nations, when they have this kind of problem, they quickly address it. But we don’t have any indication of it being addressed. All the legislation we have don’t address this new problem. Even where we have the law, they don’t enforce the law. Imagine the spate of bombings in Nigeria, there has been no prosecution of a single one to logical conclusion. We don’t address the issue of unemployment, we don’t address poverty, we don’t address security, there is no enforcement. We really need to wake up otherwise, the nation will continue to wallow in this bad situation,” he said.
Like Fagbohungbe , Jacobs does not share the view that we need a special legislation to fight kidnapping. “We have enough provisions in the Criminal Code and Penal Code that can address this a little. But these things are becoming so serious in the country that we need to change those legislation and the mode of enforcing them.
“We should review our laws to accommodate the new development.”
He said the problem with the country has been enforcement of laws to curtail the act.
“But law may not necessarily be the solution. There is the aspect of unemployment of our youths. You may have to use a combination of these factors and others to stem the tide in Nigeria”.
Jacobs said death penalty may not solve the problem of kidnapping “except if it is a kidnapping that leads to killing or murder. Obviously, that is no longer mere kidnapping. That is murder. If it doesn’t involve murder, I don’t think we should go for death sentence.
“Since we started democracy, all the governors have refused to sign the death warrants and hanging of the condemned prisoners. So, if it doesn’t go with murder, kidnapping could still be tried and curbed under other laws of the country” he said.
Emeka argued that there is enough provisions in the Criminal Code and Penal Code to deal with kidnappers. He said even if the penalty for kidnapping is death by firing squad, it may not address the question.
He said government could do more by addressing the worsening socio-economic tide in the country, deal with corruption to free public funds, create good jobs and address youth unemployment. Further, since violent crime would not be justified by unemployment, he suggestred that the government should increase the capacity of the police for detection and increase the capacity of the criminal justice system to promptly and efficiently deal with kidnapping cases.
“I, therefore, recommend ways of curbing kidnapping as truly fighting corruption, funding education, creating jobs and improving on youth employment. Then maximising the ability of the police to detect crimes and empowering the courts to try offenders with dispatch. If we do these, even if kidnapping still exists, it will stop making headline news”, he said.
Afenifere has asked the President to act decisively before the menace gets out of total control.
The group warned that criminals may take over the country if the government fails to act decidedly.
Arogbofa alleged conspiracy among the criminals and some security agencies in the country.
“The President should act, especially, by giving red card to the security officers, in particular, the police and prisons officials, while the Bar and the Bench must no longer toy with or rationalise obvious criminal cases”, the group said.
