Rights activists in Kaduna pay ransom for release of kidnapped persons

Blame Govt, Police For Increase In Crime

Civil rights activist, Mallam Danjuma Sarki has blamed Kaduna Government, Police and other security forces in the state for the escalating rate of kidnapping and abduction cases, saying the recent kidnap of more than 20 people on the Kaduna-Abuja highway in broad day light showed that government security apparatus has failed.

Sarki, who is also the President of Arewa Youth for Progress and Development, during a press conference in Kaduna, yesterday, explained that some members of the rights group and himself had to come to the aid of some kidnap victims and pay the ransom demanded by kidnappers for their release.

Sarki said when the unfortunate incident, which occurred on June 8, 2017, was reported to the state government and police, no attempt was made to rescue them from the kidnappers, until the group members waded into the matter. Sarki, who paraded the victims before Journalists, said relevant authorities had ignored their plea to intervene and secure the victims’ release.

Describing the Kaduna-Abuja highway as a den of kidnappers, Sarki said: “No one is safe now on that expressway due to the non-chalant attitude of our security agencies and government.

“It baffles us that, despite the deployment of 510 anti-riot police men backed with 40 patrol vehicles and armoured personnel carriers on the Abuja-Kaduna Express way, recently, code named ‘Operation maximum safety,’ we still have such intolerable level of security situation in the state.”