Banditry, Kidnapping As Lucrative Business In Nigeria

 By Agunloye Bashiru

The failure and nonchalant attitude of the Federal Government of Nigeria on the incidents of kidnapping for ransom has made Nigerian families to resort to self-help to free their loved ones from the dens of kidnappers and bandits. 

*Kidnappers and their victims 

From 2021 to date, over 500 incidents of kidnappings were said to have been recorded with close to 4,000 Nigerians and some foreign citizens abducted across Nigeria, while some unreported cases were unknown due to the nature of Nigeria when it comes to proper data documentation.

While all these incidents of kidnappings and abductions were happening across the country, the Nigerian government left the victims in the hands of these unrepentant and inhuman gangs. 

From July 2021 to August 2022, over one billion Naira was reported to have been paid by Nigerians to freed victims of kidnappings and abductions. In July 2021, the sum of N250 million was paid by Nigeria Baptist Convention as ransom to the bandits that kidnapped 140 students from the Bethel Baptist College, Damishi, Kaduna State. In July 2022 alone, eight Nigerian abducted persons parted with N800 million while a kidnapped Pakistani national paid the sum of N200 million as ransom to kidnappers. 

All this is happening in a country where there is an elected government in place, a country self-acclaimed to be the giant of Africa. Ironically, the government is claiming to have spent millions of Dollars on the purchase of surveillance equipment and ammunition to combat the insurgency and banditry. 

On Nigerian soil, kidnappers, bandits and terrorists were seen holding their victims hostage at will for several months without the government freeing them or negotiating for their release. 

Since March 2022 when bandits attacked, killed some and abducted hundreds of the passengers of the Nigerian Railway Corporation’s train on its way from Abuja to Kaduna, some of the abducted victims are still in the hands of their captives because they are yet to pay ransoms. 

The terrorists, bandits and herdsmen are having a field’s day in Nigeria because the government has failed to live up to the expectations of protecting the lives of the citizens it governs. There is no doubt that the present government lacks the political will to deal decisively with the perpetrators of terrorism and banditry. 

Are the terrorists, bandits and herdsmen terrorizing Nigeria more powerful than the Nigerian government? 

Nigeria as a country is heading towards a total collapse with the myriad bestial acts being perpetrated by the terrorists’ groups such as Boko Haram, the Islamic States West Africa Province (ISWAP), bandits as well as herdsmen. These notorious gangs have massacred and killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Nigerians through their notorious and senseless activities. 

Nowhere in Nigeria is safe now, from the north, east and southern parts of the country the stories are the same. Nobody can move freely from one place to another without fear of being attacked or kidnapped and this is worrisome and perplexing. 

All over the world, one of the duties of the Air Force is surveillance through the air. How come the Nigeria Air Force is not able to locate the hideouts of terrorists and bandits in order to rescue their victims? Are the Air Force personnel deliberately or intentionally ignoring this responsibility? Or are we to conclude that Nigeria Air Force does not have in their possession surveillance equipment or aircraft for monitoring or finding the hideouts of the criminals? 

All these questions require urgent answers from the Nigerian military authorities because it is unbelievable that bandits will kidnap victims and hold them hostage for many months and even show video clips of how the kidnapped people are being tortured and no clue for the Nigerian Air Force to rescue them from their abductors. 

It is not surprising at all because terrorists and bandits usually operate by abducting victims using motorbikes to transport them to their dens in convoys without them being apprehended by any security agency personnel.

Many families of those victims released by the bandits sold their properties before they were able to raise the money for their release with no support from the government whose responsibility is to protect them. 

For over seven years now, Nigerians are not enjoying the dividends of democracy and the majority of the over 180 million citizens are living in abject poverty, fear and uncertainty. 

The politicians are making promises ahead of the 2023 general election. It is my belief that Nigerians would ask a series of questions bothering on failed promises and how their lives would be better off after this government might have handed over to the new government. I hope Nigerians would shine their eyes very well to choose the best. 

*Bashiru, a public affairs analyst, writes via bagunloye@gmail.com