KIDNAPPING IN NIGERIA; NAVIGATING THE WIDESPREAD PHENOMENON AND THE NEED FOR URGENT AND PROACTIVE MEASURES.

There is no hiding the fact that Nigeria has become notorious for incessant kidnappings and mass abductions for over a decade now. With its prevalence in Northern Nigeria with several bandit and terrorist groups as major perpetrators, and anyone hardly held accountable for this malady. Kidnapping has so degenerated that it has sparked widespread criticism and condemnation. Kidnapping has become a wildfire in Nigeria that has become difficult to curtail. Efforts to pin this malady down has proven futile.

This article aims to dissect the concept of kidnapping, it’s causative factors, legal consequences and frameworks for combating the widespread disease and proactive recommendations to decisively eliminate this menace.

WHAT IS KIDNAPPING?

Kidnapping according to Merriam Webster legal dictionary is “an act or instance or the crime of seizing, confining, inveigling, abducting, or carrying away a person by force or fraud often with a demand for ransom or in furtherance of another crime”

The court per Rhode Vivour J.S.C in Ewugbe V. State LPELR-SC. 480/2015 posited that “Kidnapping Contrary to S364(2) of the Criminal Code, when a person is detained unlawfully, the offense of kidnap is established “

Kidnapping cuts across low scale money making scheme, known colloquially as “hustle” to acts of terrorism perpetrated by individuals and terrorist groups.

The supreme court in Okaeshetu v. State (2016) LPELR-SC. 838/2014 laid down the ingredients of the offence of kidnapping, which must be proven beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution. These elements include:

(I) That the victim was seized and taken away by the accused, (II)That the victim was taken away without his consent, (III) And the victim is carried away without lawful excuse.

The court Further stated that the offence of kidnap is complete when the victim is carried away against his wish.

Furthermore, the court in Orogbemi V. State (2022) LPELR-58179(CA) posited that demand for ransom is immaterial in proving kidnap. Whether or not the abductor demands for ransom does not make it more or less a crime of Kidnap.

Kidnapping poses a threat to public safety often accentuated in the mode of operation; it goes against the basic principles of fundamental right to life, right to dignity of human person, freedom of movement and right to personal liberty.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF KIDNAPPING IN NIGERIA

Statistics from SBM intelligence prove that Nigeria as of 15 march 2024 has recorded about 68 mass kidnappings with more than 1800 people kidnapped. One of such incidents is the mass kidnapping of pupil in Kaduna state, north western Nigeria in march of 2024. “At least 68 incidents of large-scale kidnappings have been reported in Nigeria since the beginning of 2024, averaging 0.91 mass abductions per day as of 15 March 2024. At the time of putting this report together, the 2024 numbers, which have reported 1867 victims in such abductions, have exceeded the whole count for 2019 (19; 153) and 2020 (59; 1152), respectively,” the document stated. And even more cases have been reported between the time of this publication to date.

The Report also has it that Kaduna state is the state with the highest kidnapping rates in Nigeria with 132 cases and 3,969 victims, followed by Zamfara and Katsina state respectively. All in the north western Nigeria plagued by high rates of banditry and terrorism attacks.

CAUSES OF WIDESPREAD KIDNAPPINGS IN NIGERIA

Every sovereign state should prioritize the welfare and security of its citizens. As the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria states in Section 14(2)(b). The proliferation of terrorism and banditry and their activities pose a serious threat to national security. Yet there have been little or no effort to curtail this menace. And the reasons are not far fetched;

Although the reasons vary from region to region, one factor we can all agree To be a major catalyst of kidnappings and mass abductions in the nation is the impoverished state of the people living in the regions stated above.

Statistics from Poverty headcount rate in Nigeria 2019, by state compile by statista has shown Sokoto, Taraba and Jigawa toping the ranks as states living below poverty line in Nigeria. (87.73%, 87.72% and 87.02% respectively.)

More statistic from Nigeria Bureau of Statistics data on poverty ranking in the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria have shown that as at 2017 north west led the rank of poorest Nigerian state with 71.4%.

This high poverty rate has left People with no choice but to indulge in kidnapping due to its relatively low-risk and high-reward nature (SBM report)

Another causative factor of kidnapping is the high rates of terrorism and banditry groups; recent reports from Borno in North East Nigeria have recorded that suspected militant Islamists had seized women and children from a displaced persons camp who were searching for firewood.

Following this is another incident of bandits who kidnapped about 137 school pupils from Kaduna state between the ages of 8 to 15 ( although these children have regained freedom) (vanguard Newspaper, March 2024)

Other factors spanning from the plummeting economy, high inflation and high unemployment rates are no less of a contributing factor to the colossal rate of kidnapping in Nigeria.

In as much as personal conviction is important to deter people from committing offenses, an economy as harsh as Nigeria leaves people with little or no strand of moral restraints.

The foregoing is however not a justification for the kidnapping epidemic, it is inarguable that kidnapping has pose a major challenge to the country’s security and economic structures, scaring off investors and tourists especially in parts where tourism serves as a source of revenue.

legal consequences and frameworks for combating the widespread of Kidnapping in Nigeria.

Since the incipience of kidnapping and abductions in Nigeria various legislative framework have been put in place to punish offenders and prevent payment of ransoms to abductors with little or nothing done as to improve the security to prevent the recurrent decimal. Let’s examine some of this legislative structures combating kidnapping and abductions in Nigeria.

To begin with, kidnapping is a felony punishable under the criminal code by imprisonment for 10 years. The law prohibits any unlawful detention/imprisonment of any person within Nigeria in such a manner as to prevent him from applying to a court for his release or from discovering to any other person the place where he is imprisoned, or in such a manner as to prevent any person entitled to have access to him from discovering the place where he is imprisoned. This Provision is effectuated in Section 364 of the Criminal Code Act.

On the same vein Section 35 Of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) emphasizes the sanctity of personal liberty and frowns at any act of unlawful detention. The act of kidnapping in itself doesn’t only defy the very essence of personal liberty but also infringes on the victims right to dignity, as effectuated in S 34 of the CFRN. Victims of kidnapping are put in very inhumane conditions awaiting ransom and most of the times when ransoms are not paid on time, victims are killed and in the case of mass kidnappings to expedite the search for ransom.

Furthermore, in September 2017 the National Assembly passed into law the Kidnapping Abduction Act which prescribes 30 years imprisonment for anyone caught colluding with an abductor to receive ransom for any person wrongfully confined. The act also prescribed death sentence upon conviction for anyone who kidnapping activities led to the death of any person.

Furthermore, The court in NNAH v. STATE (2019) LPELR-47207(CA), posited that kidnapping is a matter within the competence of the House of Assembly, Therefore deducing from the principle laid down in the above case, it follows that the punishment for kidnapping vary from state to state. some States across the nation have enacted more stringent laws as measures to drastically mitigate the rate of kidnapping by implementing death penal ties and life imprisonment for convicted kidnappers.

At least, 15 states have made kidnapping a capital offense, among this states are: Anambra, Enugu, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Imo, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Cross River, Ebonyi, Kogi, Rivers, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo and Oyo; As steps to drastically mitigate the rate of kidnapping in the regions/states.

Additionally, The government’s Stern disposition towards kidnapping was expressed by the senate in 2022 when the law-making body sought to amend the Terrorism Prevention Act (2013) to avert and punish any act that amounts in the payment of ransoms to abductors, kidnappers and terrorists for the release of any person who had been wrongfully confined, imprisoned or kidnapped.

The Chairman of the committee on judiciary human rights and legal matters Opeyemi Bamidele averred that the import of this bill is to discourage The rising spate of kidnapping and abduction for ransom in Nigeria, which is spreading across the country.

This position which is contained in Section 14 of the proposed amendment reads; Anyone who transfers funds, make payment or colludes with an abductor, kidnapper or terrorist to receive any ransom for the release of any person who has been wrongfully confined, imprisoned or kidnapped is guilty of felony and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years.

Upon analyzing this proposed provision, many questions beg for answers, such as: Does this measure not exacerbate trauma for victim families whose primary worry is ensuring the safety of their loved ones? In a system as inert as Nigeria's, should they wait for the government to take action?

All the uncertainties that come with this provision poses a situation that is more like adding salt to the injury as its execution might be a disaster. On this point it is advisable to first and foremost fix and make sure for an expedient response system that would build the masses trust in the government to secure the safety of their families and loved ones. Otherwise a law like this in an overwhelmingly marred security system would breed nothing good but rather will be inimical to the lives of kidnapped victims in custody.

In the same vein, government officials, activists have called on state governors and lawmakers to implement more stringent punishment for kidnapping.

Mrs Remi Tinubu, the first lady in her speech on the celebration of International women’s Day called on State Governors and Lawmakers to put in place laws to make kidnapping punishable by death, describing kidnappers as cowards for praying on women and children.

More often than never this legislative framework do not deter perpetrators from kidnapping, which has proven it a less proactive solution to the menace that is plaguing Nigeria. Other steps like setting up Anti kidnapping structure to curb the pandemic has proven futile amid the incessant kidnappings across the country.

CONCLUSION

All things considered, insulating kidnappings, banditry, terrorism and crime rates generally from a society with low/inadequate security structure, high rate of unemployment, a plummeting economy, and high inflation rates would require more than punitive policies to do that. The war against terrorism is unwinnable only to the extent that the government mainstream the Security of the people above all else, the National security and welfare of the people should take precedence while other concerns flow incidentally, because humans by nature would go to any length to survive and this includes desperate measures like kidnapping.

It follows from the foregoing that the efforts to eradicate Kidnapping with enactments will not be sufficient enough, rather to decisively eradicate Kidnapping in Nigeria, the government should first and foremost address the underlying issues that emanate from ideological standpoints, economic hardships, and unemployment. It must also improve the national security, cut down bandits operations across the country and adequately furnish the security structures with sophisticated equipment and trained personnel.