Widespread kidnapping and ransom payment deserve emergency response 

Pervasive incidents of kidnapping, including the recent one involving the now-rescued Mrs. Folashade Odumosu continue to heighten fears and uncertainties across Nigeria’s urban centres as well as in the hinterlands. While the police and other law enforcement agencies deserve commendation for promptly rescuing some of the abductees, the frequency of the commission of the heinous crime indicates that all is not well in society; and that the government, which has responsibility for the security and welfare of the citizens, needs to do a lot more to discharge its duty.

The recent abduction of Mrs Odumosu, wife of retired Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police, Hakeem Odumosu in Arepo, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State speaks to the endemic nature of insecurity and the precarious situation confronting Nigerians irrespective of status. The concern about the safety of Nigerians at home and in transit continues to grow even as relevant agencies appear to be recording appreciable successes in curbing terrorism and other forms of banditry.

While several syndicates have been apprehended, episodes of kidnapping and demand for ransom remain unabated and continue to feature as a major security challenge. In December 2024, Zakari Mijinyawa, director, Legal Service and Coordinator of the Strategic Communications Inter-agency Policy Committee (SCIPC) in the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) confirmed that no fewer than 7,967 hostages were rescued across the country.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) 2024 revealed that Nigerians paid N2.23 trillion as ransom to kidnappers between May 2023 and April 2024 within a period that no fewer than 2,235,954 victims of kidnapping cases were recorded across the country.

The report which profiled 1,420,307 cases of kidnapping in the northwest, 317,837 cases in the north-central and 110,432 cases in the southeast, no doubt, posits clear indicators for national emergencies. It is indeed worrisome that the dimension of the security situation in the country remains precarious, considering that 65 per cent of families of kidnapped victims are faced with the hard choice of paying ransom estimated at an average of N2.67 million per kidnapping incident. The security situation in the rural communities could readily be described as brutish with over 70 per cent of kidnapping incidents being recorded.

It should be evident that grave danger lies ahead if the spate of kidnapping and payment of ransom is allowed to fester for too long. It is not acceptable that families and relatives of victims should continue to pay ransom to ensure the safety and freedom of their loved ones in the face of the seeming helplessness or incapacity of security operatives.

Kidnapping will remain attractive so long as perpetrators succeed with the ransom demand. The consequences of widespread kidnapping and payment of ransom in rural communities are not only far-reaching but would be too costly to imagine in the long run.  The need for urgent intervention to stem the tide of kidnapping in the rural communities which are predominantly agrarian is underscored by the looming threats of food insecurity amid ramified multidimensional poverty in the country.

A situation where farmers in rural communities are left with no option but to succumb to payment of ransom as a condition for carrying out legitimate activities should never have been allowed to happen. While the government at the federal and state levels should intensify investments in security infrastructure and strategy as well as the welfare of security personnel, it should be imperative to acknowledge that the role of the local government in offering complementary support to the security needs at the communities cannot be overestimated.

More than ever, the local government as the closest to the grassroots must play key roles in mobilising and enhancing resources and personnel to consolidate neighbourhood security. It should be instructive that most of the perpetrators of kidnapping readily find the terrains of rural communities as haven precisely on account of the prevailing gaps in the security networks across the hinterlands.

It is therefore expected that the fiscal breather recently granted the local government with the prospects of direct allocation from the federation account will translate into priority attention in enhancing the security needs of the rural populace and in addressing the challenge of kidnapping to a considerable level. Governments at the national and sub-national levels are expected to bolster synergies with paramilitary agencies and local vigilante groups by providing support in terms of equipment, training and subventions.

The role of critical stakeholders at the level of the communities and platforms of civil societies has become more germane in light of the prevailing situation. Ultimately, the collective resolve of the people should be the driving force of the collaborative efforts aimed at ensuring the security of lives and property within their domains.

To this extent, the government should not be unmindful of over-dependence on a kinetic approach in curtailing the virulent activities of terrorists and bandits. While terrorists and bandits more, often than not, exacerbate kidnapping, sole reliance on armed combat would not deliver the much-expected result or be easy to sustain in the long run. There is a need therefore for reevaluation of national security architecture towards recommitting layers of security apparatus to the urgency of curbing growing incidents of kidnapping.

Without a doubt, the negative impact of kidnapping on Nigeria’s economy is enormous and debilitating. The quest for harnessing required incentives to drive foreign direct investments would remain an unfulfilled dream if incidents of kidnapping become hydra-headed. No investor would be confident about doing business where the safety of lives cannot be guaranteed or when payment of ransom to secure freedom becomes a way of life.