Why Kidnapping Will Continue to Be a Big Business in Nigeria

In the last 10 years, kidnapping is one of the vices that have been on the rise worldwide. Its status as an unconventional and illegitimate means of making money has been a major cause of concern to people and governments across the world.

From the Russian Republics to Manila, Cairo to Port Harcourt and even Bogota, kidnapping has metamorphosed from a practice of common criminals into a trade run by well-managed organizations. In some countries, kidnappers are known to grab anything that moves, at times making one wonder how profitable the business could be.
In Nigeria, the “kidnap industry” is believed to be raking in millions of dollars annually in ransom.
In some places, targets and victims range from humans to animals. A six-ton working elephant was once kidnapped in Thailand.

Babies and toddlers have been kidnapped with their parents coughing out millions of Naira as ransom in Nigeria. Though in Africa’s most populous nation, the rich and their relatives are the principal target, that is not to say that the poor are entirely safe. It is a known fact that in Nigeria, the rich, poor, young and old are all potential victims as motives for kidnappings vary from ransom to rituals.
While high profile kidnap cases usually get extensive media attention, a lot are settled without any publicity. For instance, the media was awash with news of the kidnap of the immediate past president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Okey Wali recently. Few hours before he was released, the younger sister of the Minister for Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke was abducted. That too got a lot of media attention.

Incidentally, many oil workers get abducted and their companies “settle” the kidnappers quietly.  

Motives for kidnapping vary from place to place and situations also differ. The Vice Chairman of a political party was kidnapped and ransom was demanded around the Eastern part of Nigeria years ago. Though the ransom was paid, the victim was eventually found dead. The same fate befell a businessman in Hong Kong decades ago. His abductors demanded a ransom of $ 60 million which was promptly paid. Sadly, he was never released despite the payment. The Boko Haram terrorist group abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in Borno State and expressed their readiness to trade them for their members detained by the Nigerian government.

Apart from the fact that Nigeria is under-policed, leaving security operatives unable to tackle kidnapping effectively, corruption in the system seems to encourage kidnapping as it makes kidnappers see their act as a way of using what they have to get what they want.

Poverty is another causative factor. The ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor has made honest business unattractive.  Kidnapping has also been seen as a tool for the poor to strike back at the rich, while those who kidnap government officials and their relatives believe it is a way of getting their share of the national cake.

While the government tries to proffer solution via the inauguration of anti-kidnap task forces in a number of places, families of most victims believe in only one solution, the prompt payment of the ransom.

Experts have however opined that if the ransom is too high and is paid too quickly, it could spur the kidnappers to either ask for more or come back for the victim or another member of the family.
Experts have also advised that negotiations should not be commenced neither should ransom be paid until a proof is obtained that the victim is alive. This will help forestall payments of huge sums by families eager to rescue victims who might have been slain.

Rescue operations could be successful, but very risky. Checks have also revealed that rescue attempts often fail, putting the victim in danger.

Picture: Imo State Blog