Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, has urged Nigerians who have paid ransom to kidnappers or bandits to take the Federal Government to court and demand a refund, arguing that the state has failed in its constitutional duty to protect citizens.
Speaking at the opening of the Legal Year of the Faculty of Law, University of Abuja, Falana cited the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Nigerian Constitution, stressing that the government is legally obligated to safeguard lives and ensure citizens’ security.
Falana criticised what he described as the government’s selective response to abductions, noting that swift action is often taken when high-profile individuals are kidnapped, while ordinary citizens are left to negotiate their own release.
He argued that the state’s failure to curb the growing kidnapping crisis constitutes a breach of its constitutional responsibilities, and that victims who paid ransom should assert their rights through the courts.
“I have suggested that citizens who are abducted by bandits or kidnappers, and whose family members are compelled to pay ransom to rescue them, have the right to go to court and say the government must refund the ransom,” he said.
“Because it is the duty of the government to protect every life. If that life is threatened or taken, the government must pay for it.
“But there is also a class dimension. If a judge, minister or former minister is kidnapped, the government will order security forces to rescue them. But when it comes to ordinary Nigerians, you are at the mercy of criminals.
“Your family members will be running from pillar to post to look for money to rescue you. And I’m saying since citizens are equal before the law, you must treat all Nigerians equally.”
Security analysts have repeatedly warned that kidnapping has evolved into a highly organised and lucrative criminal enterprise in Nigeria.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigerians paid an estimated N2.23 trillion in ransom between May 2023 and April 2024.
The figures, contained in the bureau’s Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) 2024, also estimate that more than 2.2 million kidnapping incidents occurred within the same 12-month period, with an average ransom payment of N2.7 million per victim.
Meanwhile, banditry attacks have continued to escalate in Shanono communities, the Shanono Local Government Area of Kano State, as bandits reportedly kidnapped five nursing mothers last Sunday.
The fresh attack occurred barely a week after the troops of the 3 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Kano, successfully repelled a deadly invasion in which 19 members of the criminal gang were neutralised.
It was reported that one of the women narrowly escaped the bandits’ deadly net. However, available sources revealed that the bandits had thrown away the babies of the kidnapped nursing mothers before taking them away to an undisclosed destination.
Narrating the recent attack, a community leader in Faruruwa village, Shanono, Alhaji Yahya Bagobiri, told journalists on Monday that the latest incursion left five women missing and a large number of livestock carted away.
Bagobiri expressed concern over the persistent attacks by bandits in the Fulani-dominated areas despite the heavy deployment of armed military personnel and other security agencies, describing the situation as getting out of hand.
