The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has expressed deep concerned over the growing rate of illicit business of kidnapping for ransom that has dominated the social space in Nigeria.
CISLAC lamented that kidnapping for ransom has assumed a critical part of the evolution of crimes in Nigeria and a direct threat to the constitutional right to live and freedom of movement of the people, regretting that this crime has received little or no concern from the Government of Nigeria despite persistent public outcries on it.
The Center however blamed the thriving of this criminal act to what it described as deliberate delayed response and the poor proactive measures by the government in the country.
According to a statement signed by the Media Officer of CISLAC, Onyekachi Eke, and made available to newsmen in Abuja, the incident of kidnapping has become worrisome as it appears that country security apparatus lacks the skills to curtail the menace.
“Since 2007, Nigeria has witnessed increased increasingly spate of kidnapping in the South, particularly South-South and South-East geo-political zones.
“In spite of the security agencies investment in intelligence gathering to get advance information to nip their activities in the bud and also the formation of the various special Task Force on kidnapping, the business still strives” she added.
It added that the rising waves of kidnapping for ransom in Nigeria has become a cancer that must not be allowed to grow further, saying that the accelerating unpleasant effects of kidnapping like killings, physical and psychological trauma, and socio-economic setback, on the victims and their families remains a big threat to the nation.
“Most Nigerians had gone through the trauma of being guests of Kidnappers. Apart from paying hefty ransom, many of the victims did not live to tell their stories.
We are not unaware that kidnapping for ransom which began in the South South region as a form of measure adopted by the agitating youths clamouring for resource control and the Federal Government; and in the North East region as a sustenance fund raising strategy by the insurgents, remains a fast growing menace flooding the country with exhausting financial demands that exacerbate existing socio-economic burden on the victims and unprecedented intensity in Zamfara, Borno, Adamawa, Kaduna, Katsina states, and other extensively underreported cases.
We condemn poor response system and lack of appreciable proactive measures by relevant authorities, given the glaring danger alerts and trend of killings, ransoms and other illegitimately frustrating demands on the victims.
“We are worried over the present inefficiency, high-handedness and underperformance of the security forces as clear manifestation of unchecked secrecy and faulty recruitment processes that dominate the forces.
“Apart from the unaccountably questionable security votes, we are surprise that despite the huge budgetary allocation to defence and security in the country, the sector records severe systemic under-performance, poor personnel appraisal and encouragement, and dearth of appropriate incentives.
“We are surprised that the increasingly budgetary allocation and other financial considerations attributable to the sector are not judiciously utilized to effectively upturn situations and efficiently address the prevailing security challenges bedeviling the country.
“We are bothered by the poor state of infrastructural facilities across the country creating high tendency for poor standards of living with increasingly youth propensity to escape poverty and socio-economic deprivation.
“More importantly, while the rising youth unemployment with its socio-economic and political effects is worrisome in the country, we find apparent failure of the government to curb the challenge through holistic revamping and transformation of the critical sector shameful and disturbing” the statement read in part.
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