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Tag: kidnappings

  • Reps direct IGP to deploy squad for urgent action against kidnappings in Plateau

    Reps direct IGP to deploy squad for urgent action against kidnappings in Plateau

    The House of Representatives has called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to urgently deploy a specialist anti-kidnapping squad to Kanam Local Government Area of Plateau State.

    The directive aims to launch targeted intelligence-gathering operations against kidnappers and dismantle their networks in the area.

    The House also urged the Chief of Defence Staff to establish a military presence in Kanam and other kidnapping hotspots nationwide. 

    They recommended counter-insurgency strategies to combat these criminal activities effectively.

    The lawmakers stressed the importance of these measures, particularly during the yuletide season, to ensure families across the country can celebrate a safe and peaceful Christmas.

    It asked the national security agencies, including the Department of State Security, the Nigerian Police Force, the National Security and Civil Defence Corps and specialized units of the Nigerian military to undertake a joint intelligence-led effort to comb the forest reserve areas in Panksin, Kanke, Kanam, Wase and Taraba axis to dislodge the camps and premises of these bad actors before they become entrenched and more formidable.

    The House also considered proposals to establish a framework for rehabilitation and compensation of citizens who have, in the course of going about their ordinary lives and businesses, become victims of kidnapping and who continue to suffer both financially and psychologically from their unfortunate experience.

    It urged the Commandant General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps to establish a Divisional Office in Gum area of Kanam Local Government.

    These resolutions followed the adoption of a motion of urgent importance on the need for the Federal Government to curb the rapidly emergency action to curb the rapidly escalating menace of kidnapping and insurgency related activities in the area sponsored by Rt. Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi.

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    The House noted that the unfortunate reoccurrence of kidnapping activities in Pankshin, Kanke and particularly Kanam Local Government Area of Plateau State, perpetuated by unknown persons who have, in recent times, made the area the focal point of their nefarious activities.

    It further noted that since August of this year, various communities in Kanam Local Government Area of Plateau State have been victimised by unprecedented cases of kidnapping for ransom. 

    It said many prominent personalities in the area, as well as ordinary citizens, have been victims, including some who were killed even after they and their families had paid significant sums as ransom to secure their freedom.

    The House was concerned that just in the last three weeks, over thirty people has been kidnapped in the area, with dire implications on rural economic activities and the prospects for sustenance and prosperity.

    It said the demand for exorbitant ransoms demanded by these kidnappers has financially devastated many families in the area. 

    The House said at the same time, both victims of these kidnappings and their families continue to suffer from the emotional and psychological trauma brought on by their unfortunate and painful experiences.

    The motion reads, “The House is aware that due to the recent increase in mining activities in Kanam Local Government Area and environs, the area has become attractive to prospectors, traders and business people of all stripes. Regrettably, the increase in commercial activities due to mining has also attracted criminal elements from across the country seeking to exploit the people who live in those areas and those who pass through those areas for one reason or another.

    “The House is also aware that the Kanam area of Plateau State is home to a large forest reserve area that is quickly becoming a haven and hiding place for these criminal elements to operate from. Particularly those bandits and boko haram that were displayed from Zamfara,Kebbi,Borno,Yobe and other north-eastern and north-western states of Nigeria.  

    “The House is further concerned that unless urgent and coordinated action by the security agencies is taken now to curb this escalating menace, Kanam Local Government Area of Plateau State and its environs may shortly become a new and intractable front in our nation’s ongoing fight against insecurity manifested by acts of insurgency, kidnapping and assorted criminal activities.” 

  • Sapele robberies, kidnappings: Igbuya urges security agencies to brace up

    Sapele robberies, kidnappings: Igbuya urges security agencies to brace up

    The Delta Representative in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Hon Monday Igbuya has called on security agencies in Sapele and its environs to up their games over the incessant cases of kidnappings and armed robberies in the town.

    Igbuya, a former Delta Speaker, in a chat with some journalists, decried the worsening cases of insecurity in Sapele and its environs in recent times, noting that hardly can a day passes without someone being kidnapped or robbed, stressing that residents in Sapele are currently living in fear.

    He said in the past one-and-half year, the security situation in the Sapele has been relatively good but sadly, in the past few months, it’s like the police and other security agencies have been caught off guard and shifted from pure security duties to chasing of yahoo boys why the town is under kidnappers siege.

    In the past two weeks, no fewer than five persons were kidnapped while some were lucky to have escaped.

    One Mr Ola, a surveyor, his wife and his children were reported to have been kidnapped in front of their house at NDDC road over the weekend.. The kidnappers later released their children the same day and the couple after collecting undisclosed sums of money as ransom.

    There are reports Sapele has been under kidnappers and armed robbery siege. People were reported to have been kidnapped and robbed at will in their homes, particularly at Shell Road, NDDC Road, Amukpe, Ghana-Ogberekoko and one-man village.

    According to Igbuya: “The worsening cases of insecurity in Sapele and its environs is becoming very worrisome and it’s getting out of hand and if urgent steps are not taken to arrest the development, it will affect the social economic development of the town.

    “So, I am calling on the Nigerian Police and other sister security agencies to up their games and stop this dangerous drift, because no one or nowhere is safe as it is today in Sapele, people are being kidnapped at will in their homes, along the streets and even public places unchallenged.

    “You can imagine, a young man who came for the preparation of his father-in-law’s burial was kidnapped in front of the inlaw’s house in the Ghana-Ogberekoko area, and in the past four days, nothing has been heard about his whereabouts.

    Read Also: Speaker Abbas calls for effective laws on safety standard

    “Yesterday I also heard that they almost kidnapped someone in front of Foodland in Okpe road in broad daylight, but he was lucky to have escaped, it’s now everyday thing in Sapele and its environs.

    “The situation is getting out of hand, the security agencies should rather focus their attention on more critical issues than chasing Yahoo boys in town, they should up their games and change the dynamics.

    “In past one, or two years, the town has been relatively peaceful and there was a huge improvement in terms of security, but the situation is becoming very alarming now. You know I was a victim of kidnapping in 2009 and the experience is horrifying.

    “No community can experience meaningful development without a peaceful environment. So, I also appealed to our youths to shun crime and take up lawful means of livelihood, crime doesn’t pay.

    “I also called on residents of Sapele to be more vigilant, this is not about herdsmen, this is the case of our people being involved in the kidnapping scheme, so we have to be very careful now.”

  • Kidnappings and the tragedy of out- of –school children

    Kidnappings and the tragedy of out- of –school children

    Education is the best legacy parents and the state can give to any child. There is the informal and formal education which when combined effectively arms every individual for a lifetime of positive productivity. The informal education is the one given from the family the community, religious and traditional institutions where values, ethics and cultural norms are passed from generation to generation. An effective combination of the two often results in maximizing the productive capacity of individuals and this in turn engenders development.

    The way each nation manages the informal and formal education sectors of its citizens determines the difference between development and underdevelopment. Each society is guided by values and ethos they have in a way adopted to be their guide through life. That is why cultures and traditions differ as much as human physical features tell our differences from continent to continent, nation to nation tribe to tribe, community to community.

    Before the advent of formal education, humanity existed and there was a seeming peace even if development and globalization were not impacting the world. However, because humans have the capacity to dominate and impact (positively or negatively) on their environment, formal education has brought with it huge strides in education. Science and technology have positively impacted human lives. This value-adding aspect of formal education has been continually horned by advancement through education in technology through ideas that are fueling innovation and research.

    The difference in nations therefore is obviously dependent on the value they place on formal education given that the informal education seems to be a given. Nations where education is given high value are beacons for the underdeveloped nations saddled with poverty and its attendant socio-economic problems like insecurity, conflicts and other sundry problems.

    The global need for people to get maximum benefit from education is why the United Nations through its agencies like UNICEF and UNESCO emphasizes the need for education across the world through treaties that most countries have signed. Through education, inequalities and gender equality can be reached. That is why the UN Sustainable Development Goals are vigorously pursued . To the United nations,  education plays a holistic role in the lives of individuals and our shared global community.

    The idea for qualitative education is to facilitate learning, the acquisition of skills, values, beliefs and habits. The goal of UNESCO for instance is to contribute to the building of the culture of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.

    The UN has a minimum benchmark for countries to allocate to education in their annual budgets which is at least 26%. This is to ensure that the sector gets enough funding to give qualitative basic education to citizens. Sadly however, Nigeria has never reached that benchmark.  The budgetary allocation has never been up to 20% in the last 24 years.

    The result is not far-fetched, public schools have been on the decline and private investors in education have taken over. Sadly, not many parents can afford the cost of private education for their children. There seems to be little incentive for children to go to school because of a plethora of reasons. In the Northern region of Nigeria, illiteracy is very high because of the system of alternative education like the almajiri system which even though good  can still be effectively combined with western education in ways that the children’s potentials can be realized with through balancing.

       The long period of lack of qualitative and consistent but affordable education has many implications. Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children in the world at more than 20million and many of them are in the Northern region with series of security problems. The child -bride syndrome in the region makes it impossible for most of the young girls to be in school and as such many of them start bearing children early and the obvious implication is that the female illiteracy rate affects the children they bear. There are always chances of having too many children and the danger again of high maternal and child mortality rates.

    The country is saddled with more than 133million people living in multi-dimensional poverty. Their emergence cannot be divorced from the lack of qualitative education that can empower for productivity. The implication is the preponderance of uneducated, unskilled and frustrated young adults who in any case would strive for survival by all means including criminality. So it is not surprising that today, there are high incidents of terrorism in the country in such a dire level that at some point Nigeria became the third most terrorized nation on earth.

    The scars of insurgency, terrorism, banditry and sundry crimes like kidnappings and arson can be seen all over the country. The insecurity problems have reached monumental proportions in ways that even the Federal Capital Territory has been experiencing the audacious invasion of terrorists some of who even ambushed and killed some of the National Guard Troops during former President Buhari’s tenure. In the last few months, there have been series of killings and kidnappings of citizens either travelling or in their houses in Abuja.

    There is heightened insecurity and many are thankful for the efforts of the military and police but believe that more can be done to stem the tide of insecurity in the country. It is therefore very heartbreaking that the abductions of school children continues to be on the rise especially in the North West states of Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina and the North Eastern states of Bornu, Yobe and the ones in the North Central states of Nasarawa and Niger. Jos has been a theatre of war for many years and that does not seem to have stopped at all as killings happen frequently.

    Even though the Chibok girls abduction garnered international attention, the February 25, 2014 Buni Yadi massacre of 59 boys in their dormitory at the Federal government college in Yobe state preceded the Chibok abductions. Not much has been heard the perpetrators of that heinous crime from the security agencies.

    Read Also: Kidnappings: There’ll be no ransom payments, says Tinubu

    However, the kidnap of the Chibok girls in April 2014 seems to have opened the floodgate of school arson and kidnappings that now seems to have become a very lucrative business. About a hundred of the kidnapped Chibok girls are still unaccounted for. The lone hostage of the Dapchi School girls abductions, Leah Sharibu is still in captivity since February 18, 2018. More than hundred girls were abducted.

    About ,1,680 school children have been kidnapped in Nigeria as at August 2023, more than 180 school children have been killed, almost a hundred injured in about 70 attacks between April 2014 and December 2022. The School children are not the sole victims, some of their teachers are always abducted along with them and school buildings often destroyed or burnt down totally.

    It is curious that these North Western school abductions always involves hundreds of school children especially girls with no trace of the criminals.  In February 2021, about 279 female students aged between 10 –17 were kidnapped from their school even though later released. This was just few days after the Kagara kidnappings in Niger state. It is just futile recounting all the school abductions in recent times  but this year alone, school children and some of their teachers have been taken from Ekiti, Kaduna, Sokoto and Bornu states.

    Presently school children as young as 7 are in the kidnappers’ den and there seems no end in sight to the terrorist acts that seems to have turned a lucrative business and an agonizing ordeal for parents. However, the implications of this tragic turn of events are that the terrorists who vowed to discourage education seem to be succeeding. For a region with the least literacy rates in Nigeria, the prognosis is dire.

    What it means is that the school enrolments would continue to decline drastically  as any sane parent would rather have an illiterate child than an abducted, wounded or dead one. Most parents might be forced to withdraw even those they had enrolled earlier. Teachers might begin to migrate away from the danger zones in a way that even if some parents decide to brave the odds to send their kids, there might be no teachers willing to risk their lives.

    Education is the key to unlock the future, Nigeria must own the education of her children by making better efforts to defeat the terrorists. For a country like Nigeria on the poverty and illiteracy chats, there are no options than defeating those endangering the future. The children have constitutional and human rights that the state must protect. An illiterate population in a 21st century world is a ticking time bomb because that is a sure recruitment space for the social misfits perpetrating the heinous crimes on innocent and vulnerable children.

    Governments at all levels must work hard to invest in security, intelligence and communication technology. There is no country in the world that is crime free but every country invests in the security of its citizens through various sectors. The internal affairs and defense ministries must work harder to secure the borders of the country through intelligence gathering. An uneducated population in a country with millions in multi-dimensional poverty is the worst tragedy in a world rule by ideas and technology. We cannot let terrorists win.

    • The dialogue continues…
  • Kidnappings: There’ll be no ransom payments, says Tinubu

    Kidnappings: There’ll be no ransom payments, says Tinubu

    …vows there’ll be no excuse not to rescue victims

    President Bola Tinubu has instructed security agencies in the country to ensure the safe return of all kidnap victims in different parts of the country, just as he tasked them to ensure no ransom is paid to achieve this.

    Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, disclosed this while addressing journalists at the State House, Abuja, after the week’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, which was presided over by President Tinubu.

    President Tinubu had earlier reacted to many incidences of abduction, which were reported in Borno and Kaduna states, given instructions to security and intelligence agencies on ensuring the immediate release of the victims, even as he assured families of the victims of speedy action on the release of their loved ones.

    However, the incidences of kidnapping, especially in the Northwest axis of the country, spiked in the last few days, with cases of ransom demands also shooting upwards.

    A band of kidnappers, which kidnapped a total of 16 persons from the Gonin-Gora area of Kaduna metropolis, Kaduna State, had demanded N40 trillion, eleven Hilux Toyota bans and 150 motorcycles for the release of their victims.

    Read Also: Ningi’s suspension: What I would have done if I was presiding officer – Abaribe

    Also, bandits in Sokoto State kidnapped 15 Qur’anic students, and recently established contact with the families, demanding a sum of N20 million as ransom before they would be released.

    Again, about 61 locals were reportedly abducted by bandits in Buda community, Kajuru Local government Area of Kaduna State on Monday.

    However, relaying the president’s instruction to security agencies during the FEC meeting, Alhaji Idris said Tinubu was emphatic about his no-ransom-payment position, though he had told them to ensure all victims were rescued, without any excuse.

    He said: “You’re also asking about the apparent surge in this kidnapping across the country. Now it is true that some of these are happening, we have seen what has happened in Kaduna, in Borno, and then in Sokoto.

    “Of course, the government is watching that very closely and not just watching, but also ensuring that security agencies are taking proactive steps to ensure that this is halted significantly.

    “Now, like I said, Mr. President has said that is an unacceptable situation and the government will not condone abductions or kidnappings or any kind of criminality in that direction.

    “We’re seeing this happening and the government is taking very proactive steps, first to mitigate that, and also to stop the spread of this apparently.

    “We are seeing that the more the security agencies are also hitting these targets or criminals, the more they are pushed to also getting some soft targets. But the government is not taking any excuses.

    “The President has directed that security agencies must, as a matter of urgency, ensure that these children and all those who have been kidnapped are brought back in safety and also in the process to ensure that not a dime is paid for ransom.

    “So it’s important to underscore that no dime, government is not paying anybody any dime and the government is optimistic that these children and other people that have been abducted will be brought back to their families in safety.”

  • Kidnappings: Time for emergency action

    Kidnappings: Time for emergency action

    The brutal slaying of Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, a 400-level student of Biological Sciences at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, by bandits who had abducted her entire family in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has the nation riveted.

    She was the daughter of Alhaji Mansoor Al-Kadriyar, a senior official of the National Population Commission (NPC) whose life was turned upside down last Friday after he and his six children were snatched by men in military fatigues.

    Their abductors released him to go source for ransom. Where they were asking for N60 million, they are now demanding N100 million, threatening to kill another child if their demand is not met. The merciless killing of Nabeeha shows the threat is credible.

    Let’s not forget that the ruthless gunmen also murdered Al-Kadriyar’s brother, Abdulfatai, after he led policemen to chase after them.

    For Oladosu Ariyo, a lawyer, his nightmare began on the night of Sunday, January 7, when kidnappers seized 11 residents of Sagwari Estate Layout in the Dutsen-Alhaji area of FCT. Four of them included his wife and their three children. Their abductors have since killed Folasade, his 13-year-old daughter, over his tardiness in raising ransom.

    These are just some of the latest and most disturbing kidnappings which have been enveloping the nation’s capital in slow burn fashion over the past few months. It is estimated that at least 15 persons were abducted in Abuja and surrounding areas in the first two weeks of 2024. Last year, there were over 50 incidents involving more than 300 victims.

    Read Also: We’ll embark on massive education effort to combat insecurity – Tinubu 

    What I find most troubling is not just the increasing number of kidnappers, but their viciousness. Typically, they use the threat of harm to pressure their victims’ families. But in the callous killing of the Al-Kadriyar and Ariyo children, we see a different kind of animal has entered the fray; one for whom human lives mean nothing.

    While the country has become accustomed to mass abductions in Northern states, there’s something unnerving about the rash of such incidents in the nation’s capital – which ordinarily should be a haven of peace and safety. You could argue that in the hinterland security resources are stretched thin; but you can’t say the same thing about the FCT. 

    Late in December 2023, Defence Headquarters gave an update on troops on operations across the country, indicating soldiers killed 8,256 terrorists and rescued 4,620 kidnap victims in the past year. Such statistics are supposed to project success, but they also underscore the gravity of the situation. Where nearly five thousand victims were freed, depend on it that there are thousands of perpetrators still roaming free.

    In one recent incident at Nahuta in Kaduna State, 100 gunmen reportedly overran a military post and then descended on the local community in an orgy of looting.

    In many parts of the North, communities have learnt to live with the reality of bandit rule – surrendering to their taxes and torture. Over the years the tolerance level has increased where there should have been zero tolerance. This slow but steady surrender is partly responsible for the audacious forays into the FCT.

    Nothing appears to be working against the criminals. Bombings have not had the desired effect. To complicate matters, the recent misfiring at Tudun Biri in Kaduna State means it’s an option that’s unlikely to used too frequently given the backlash when things go wrong.

    Some thought that the introduction of harsher punishment might do the trick. At least 10 states have introduced the death penalty or life imprisonment for the crime – among them Kano in the Northwest.  Unfortunately, the bandits didn’t take notice. Actually, it’s not the severity of punishment that deters, but that certainty that it will come. In Nigeria, there’s no guarantee that punishment will swiftly follow your crime. 

    How many of the kidnappers who abducted scores of students from secondary schools in Zamfara or from several tertiary institutions and the Bethel Secondary School in Kaduna State two years ago have been apprehended and prosecuted? In all of those cases ransom running into hundreds of millions was paid to criminals who rode off into the sunset to live happily ever after. Those watching on the sidelines saw practical evidence that crime pays with little or no consequence.

    It’s hard to see the ransom economy suffering a downturn any time soon because the establishment no longer makes any pretence about discouraging such payments. In the recent case of the unfortunate Al-Kadriyar family, we saw former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, trumpeting his role in raising money to free the abductees.

    Why would anyone give up a line of business that pays hundreds of millions of naira for a few days’ work? Indeed, most people freed by kidnappers were let go, not because of the efforts of security agencies, but through payment of cash.

    In office, Pantami championed the NIN-SIM linkage as a game-changer in the war against insecurity. A few days ago he was moaning about security agents not using his pet formula to track kidnappers and others – evidence no doubt that what works elsewhere isn’t guaranteed to work here.

    Yet, solutions must be found urgently to what has become an emergency. Not too long ago President Bola Tinubu warned that his government’s target of a $1 trillion economy was in danger of not being met because of widespread insecurity.

    For the situation to change there must first be an understanding of why kidnapping and banditry are thriving. This crime isn’t tied to any political struggle like was the case in Colombia. Available evidence shows it is linked to the state of the economy. The decline of the last ten years has been followed by a dramatic rise in abductions for ransom by criminal gangs.

    While the economy may be a may be a major factor, there’s need for caution. A significant proportion of Nigeria’s 200 million population lives under the poverty line. But not all have used that as justification for taking to kidnapping. In fact, given the ambitious sums demanded for ransom it is clear that this isn’t just about people struggling to put food on the table but organised, big crime syndicates at work.

    How long it would take to stabilise the economy is a matter of conjecture. So, if that’s the magic cure then we are headed for further uncertainty. Still, an improved economy is no guarantee that criminality would end.

    Widespread economy prosperity remains a longer term fix, but there are short term interventions that must be implemented without further delay.

    For one thing, a national security emergency must be declared. This shouldn’t be the typical ’emergency’ that’s been proclaimed in other areas with little to show. It must have a few simple, implementable steps.

    For instance, the classic interpretation of roles for the armed forces and different security agencies must be adjusted. If we accept that the traditional definition of armed conflict has evolved and that the nation is currently at war with enemies within, then walls around turf must be brought down. More troops should be inserted to take back our forests and rural areas.

    We are not facing any current external threats so the considerable resources of the armed forces can be deployed elsewhere. The thousands of policemen loafing around on major roads inspecting vehicle documents can be deployed to rural areas to protect remote communities.

    The president should give service chiefs six months ultimatum to stabilise the situation or be fired. During the American civil war, President Abraham Lincoln kept sacking commanding generals in the face of consistent reverses at the hands of the Southern confederacy until he found the whiskey-swilling Ulysses Grant who appeared to be the only one winning battles.

    His appointment marked a turnaround in the federal war effort to defeat the rebels and keep the United States one. It is time to ratchet up pressure on our plethora of security agencies because bandits and kidnappers killing and maiming people just miles from the seat of power is terrible optics.

    Ultimately, the reform of Nigeria’s policing structures is something that can no longer be delayed. What is happening in Abuja and large swathes of the Northwest and Northeast show that current policing resources are grossly inadequate for the security challenges of these times.

  • Ahmadiyyah seeks action on killings, kidnappings

    Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat has urged the government to curb the incessant killings and kidnappings in some parts of the country.

    A missioner at the association’s Badagry Circuit, Sheikh Muhammad Rabiu Uthman, suggested that the best way to fight crime is prevention.

    He spoke at the 46th National Convention of the Majlis Khuddam-Ul-Ahmadiyya, Nigeria (MKAN) in Lagos.

    Uthman admitted that fighting is a global phenomenon.

    He said: “You don’t fight crime and succeed.  It is easier to prevent crime than to fight crime. In doing so, you have to look at the causes of the crimes; to know why there is so much insecurity in the land.

    “It has never been like this before especially for the past 15 years or thereabouts.  That’s why we need to look backwards and identify what has actually led us into these crises.”

    He blamed the government’s failure to live up to expectations for the security challenges.

    “Fundamentally, once leaders fail in their responsibilities, there is bound to be anarchy and insecurity as we are experiencing it now,” he said.

    He said corruption and mismanagement of resources are responsible for poverty in the country.

    “Once we are able to block all the loopholes in this country, there will be more funds to take care of the youth. By the time we cater for the youth, the issues of insecurity will be a thing of the past. We have to utilise our natural resources well. There is so much going into the running of government than what goes into the capital projects that will impact positively in the lives of the people. Government needs to cut down the cost of governance so that money will be available to take care of other sectors,” he said.

    He called on the government to prioritise education in the crisis-prone areas.

    “When we educate these people, they will be liberated. There is a heavy presence of ignorance and abject poverty in the northeastern parts of the country.

    “The best solution is not to deploy the army or set out all the security apparatus to the areas. It is for the government to go back to the basis, which is to create jobs for the teeming jobless youths because ones the youth are idle, they can easily be lured into crimes. Once the terrorists give them peanut, they will jump at it and that’s what is happening today,” he added.

  • Why kidnappings, killings persist, by Interfaith forum

    The Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace (IDFP) on Friday attributed the unending kidnappings and killings in the country to lack of enough intelligence by security agencies.

    IDFP expressed that government has to act fast before the situation gets out of hand.

    The co-chairperson of IDFP, Alhaji Kunle Sanni, who spoke to reporters at the ongoing 2-day workshop on gender and child rights said the security agencies have all it take to fight the criminals.

    Sanni said adequate intelligence gathering amongst security operatives will help end what he described as the unfortunate development.

    He also called for synergy between local communities and security operatives to achieve positive change.

    His words: “Government should be in-charge of security with the collaboration of local community. Government cannot do it alone. The local community cannot do it alone.

    “But the problem we have is the fact that it seems that the security agencies are not on top of the situation. And government has to do something fast because the situation is becoming alarming and it almost all over the country.

    Read Also; Ijaw community decries military presence

    “Initially it was isolated to the northeast now it is moving to the northwest and now southwest and everywhere.

    “We need a lot of efforts from the government to tackle the security agencies to be on top of the situation.

    “But we as local people, we live with these criminals and we should be able to know where they are hiding and hibernating so as to collaborate with government to see that the situation is put in-check.

    “The security agencies have all it takes to fight these criminals. Every year we know how much is voted and budgeted for security, so where is all the money going to?

    “And I believe that the problem we really have is not having good intelligence.

    “If we have good intelligence we will be able to know where these criminal are hiding and fished out and punished.”

    On the gender and Child rights, the cleric said: “There are so many interventions about the rights of women but it is not localized. Some men do not want the women to know their rights. And there must be a balance.”

    The chairperson Women Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (WOWICAN) Deaconess Victoria Ihesiulor complained that since 2003 when the Child’s Right Act was adopted by the Federal Government of Nigeria 24 states out of 36 states of the federation have passed it as a state law.

  • Southeast nomadic teachers worried about kidnappings

    The National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) yesterday in Awka, Anambra State capital, condemned insecurity in Southeast.

    It spoke at Jesse Hotels, Awka during a three-day training workshop for nomadic teachers in the zone.

    The training covers use of curriculum guides, record keeping, guidance and counselling and multi-grade teaching techniques.

    Governor Willie Obiano was represented by Education Commissioner Prof. Kate Omenugha.

    NCNE Executive Secretary Prof. Bashir Haruna Usman said kidnappings, conflict between farmers and pastoralist and other crimes gave them headaches.

    He said teachers’ productivity was tied to motivation, meaning that their welfare must be enhanced.

    Usman, represented by the Director, Social Mobilisation and Outreach (NCNE), Kaduna, Mohammed El-Nafaty, hailed Governor Obiano for supporting nomadic education.

    He described him as a visionary and dynamic leader, who transformed education.

    Obiano said his administration would ensure nomadic schools were provided with qualified teachers, standard structures and facilities.

  • Kidnappings in Lagos

    Kidnappings in Lagos

    At about 3pm on Friday, February 24, 2017, I received a phone call. The caller was Bola Frazer. She introduced herself as the producer of a programme on Channels Television. She expressed the station’s growing concern about the spate of kidnappings in Lagos and the need to seek expert opinion on how to curb the menace. She was, therefore, inviting me to appear on the programme scheduled for 7:30pm that Friday evening.
    It was an opportunity for me to express my view in the raging debate on the menace of kidnapping in the country, particularly the disturbing dimension it has taken in Lagos. But then, the notice was too short for me. So, I politely expressed my gratitude for having been contacted, but, at the same time, expressed my inability to take up the offer due to my tight schedule. I promised I could be available in the future.
    The brief encounter with Bola struck a chord in me. The result is this piece you are reading. There is, no doubt, a need to proffer practical solutions to the burning issue of kidnapping in Lagos and its environs. As we all know, most of the kidnappers are itinerant criminals who come in once in a while to unleash terror on the peace-loving people of Lagos. They often disappear through the creeks, back to their hideouts in the riverine areas of Ondo, Delta, Rivers, Edo states and other places. Generally, kidnapping is a global phenomenon. It was introduced big time into the country in the 1990s by aggrieved militants in the Niger Delta struggle. Since then, it has become a thriving business that attracts more and more criminally-minded individuals all over the place. Today, it has spread to almost all parts of the country because of the illicit and mouth-watering financial reward involved in the heinous crime.
    A number of state governments have come up with severe measures, including the death penalty, to dissuade people from engaging in the criminal act, but it has not deterred the perpetrators. From Calabar to Maiduguri, Lagos to Yenagoa, Benin to Kano, Kaduna and even Abuja, the story is the same. Many lives have been lost and a lot of families have been ruined through heavy ransom payment or outright loss of breadwinners or both. In the madness, no one is spared. Children have been yanked off their mothers’ backs while parents are killed or maimed in the presence of their children or family members. The way the kidnappers are going about their nefarious business these days, they seem to be getting more emboldened and sophisticated by the day.
    Sadly, the response by the security agents, especially the police, the agency constitutionally empowered to enforce internal security, is tardy and very worrisome. In most of the cases the police claim they have cracked, huge sums of money for ransom may have been involved, although the police are usually quick to add that “no ransom” was paid. Besides, it takes them almost eternity to crack some of these kidnap cases, thereby allowing the victims to languish precariously in the dungeon of the kidnappers for several days under intense psychological and physical torture, including hunger, sex abuse and all that.
    In Lagos, in spite of the huge sum of money put into the state’s Security Trust Fund by the state government, blue-chip companies and other well-meaning individuals, the spate of kidnapping has assumed an epidemic proportion. It is quite obvious that there are visible lapses in the command structure of the current security arrangement in place in the state. Today, the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) put in place and heavily funded by the state to checkmate crime, especially violent crimes, seems to be clay-footed. They now concentrate more on extortion and patrolling streets in highbrow areas of the state dominated by the rich and upscale individuals. This is one of the reasons why the kidnappers may have been having a free reign.
    In some other instances, patrol vehicles are diverted for the personal use of the officers and men of the outfit, instead of gathering intelligence and responding swiftly to distress calls. Mostly at weekends, you see the vehicles carrying gaily-dressed men and women going out to parties or coming from shopping in markets and shopping malls.
    The number of policemen attached to the RRS may be overwhelming, but they are mostly used by politicians and land-owners to settle land disputes and flaunt their importance in the society. They run rings around politicians who are curious to use them as status symbols. If you drive, say, from Onikan to Epe, you may not come across any of the patrol teams on the road. Instead, they go to places like Apapa to extort money from port users, leaving the water line porous. From Marina, Epe, Ikorodu, the police are hardly visible. In Marina, what they do is to simply push the smugglers to Takwa Bay where they are extorted.
    Now, what’s the essence of buying helicopters, vehicles, motorcycles and properly equipping the police in Lagos if criminals, especially kidnappers, are constantly having a field day? The fact is that the militants-turned-kidnappers largely operate on the state waterways. It was from there they attacked the school in Ikorodu last year as well as staged the recent attack on the Turkish School through the creek; they also attacked targets in Epe and Festac area through the creek.
    I have always thought that there is a marine police unit, but they seem to be fast asleep and snoring. Recently, I drove from Epe through Ijebu-Ode. I only came across two RRS patrol vehicles on that axis, with the operatives extorting road users. Basically, the waterways in Lagos are porous and unmanned. It is as if no lessons have been learnt from the rampant and debilitating criminal activities going on around the creeks.
    It is pertinent to state that Lagos must change its security architecture. However, it is a sort of relief to see that the Lagos State government recently came up with a strong strategy to curb the menace. The police or the security agencies need to deploy along the coastal lines. The RRS, Operation Mesa, the Navy and others should go on regular patrols. One strange thing is that rather than concentrate on crime busting, RRS, which is supposed to be a quick-response force, is now bogged down with investigation of crimes and all that. They now have an investigation department in Alausa. This is a serious negation of their mandate because the initial vision has been bastardised.
    Also, the marine police should be strengthened if they are to make any significant impact. Places like Onikan, Epe, Badagry, Ikorodu, Gbagada, are where Operation Mesa teams and the RRS should be visible along the coastal line. If you venture to Ajegunle or Okokomaiko today, you don’t notice any patrol vehicles while their vehicles cluster around Ikoyi, Victoria Island and other highbrow places. Robbers too have been using the creeks to stage attacks in Lekki Phase 1 and other places.
    Lagos State should create a good and effective security hub because the state is surrounded by water. These criminals carry out their attacks using the waterways as amphibious landing spots and takeoff points. Therefore, there should be consistent patrols on the stretch of water from Marina to Epe, Ikorodu and other places. Above all, there is the need for security agencies in Lagos to be vigilant. Their welfare also needs to be looked into as some of them are said to be pulling out of the RRS to other formations as a result of the poor welfare package.
    Finally, the current commissioner of police in the state should not create an island to himself. He should constantly rub minds with other stakeholders to proffer the best solution to this growing problem because nobody is a repository of knowledge. However, if the situation persists, godfather or no godfather, a change of leadership of the police in the state may become inevitable.

  • Editors’ Guild to Fed Govt: tackle kidnappings

    The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has urged the Federal Government to take security and legislative measures to tackle increased rate of kidnappings in the country.

    Its President Mrs. Funke Egbemode and General Secretary Mrs. Victoria Ibangasaid this in a communiqué issued at the end of the Guild’s fourth quarterly Standing Committee Meeting in Yola over the weekend.

    They expressed worry over the increased spate of kidnappings, which they said could scare foreign investors and further weigh the economy down.

    The communiqué reads: “The NGE expresses concern over the upsurge in kidnappings across Nigeria, which has unfortunately become a national menace that has negatively impacted on the social and economic life of the country.

    “The Guild notes that the new dimension the vice has assumed was portraying the country negatively in the eye of the global community, with the potential of scaring foreign investors, at a time their contribution is crucial to revamping the country’s ailing economy.”

    It condemned the abductions of notable personalities, including the wife of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mrs. Margaret Emefiele, former minister Bagudu Hirse, Rev. John Adeyi of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), a journalist Iyuadoo Tor-Agbidye, among others.

    The Guild noted that kidnapping has almost become a daily occurrence.

    “In the light of these occurrences, the Guild urges the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, rejig its security apparatchik and develop a pro-active security strategy that will checkmate the menace.

    “It is equally desirable for the government to urgently evolve anti-kidnapping measures and legislations, to combat the current wave of crimes and criminality in Nigeria,” it said.

    The editors called for the strengthening of the judicial system to engender speedy prosecution of kidnap suspects to serve as a deterrent to others, urging security agencies to be alive to their responsibilities.