By GEB
The reaction of law enforcement agencies and the government to the recent protest in Ekpoma, Edo State, against incessant kidnappings in the town and its environs is negative and raises a question. The authorities appear to be in denial of the criminal activities that have frustrated the residents and put them in perpetual fear. This is hardly what the country needs to put an end to a kidnapping scourge that has become endemic in the country.
Rather than pretend that all is well, governments at all levels should fully mobilise security agencies to launch an all-out war against kidnapping and banditry.
Last month, precisely January 10, the university town of Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria, was in the news over the residents’ protest against persistent kidnappings in the town and its environs. The protest, which engulfed the whole town and was largely led by both residents and varsity students, prompted security forces to arrest and detain the protesters in a manner that grossly violated their rights.
More than 52 students arrested were subsequently taken to Ubiaja Correctional Centre. Many observers and human rights activists strongly condemned the arrest and wondered why the security forces, who were unable to protect residents, would go on a binge arresting peaceful protesters at odd hours. However, the state governor, Monday Okpebholo, ordered the release of the protesters.
Intriguingly, the governor said that the protesters were sponsored by outsiders. In his words, “This was not a students’ protest …The kidnapping they are talking about is fake. It was stage-managed. They were arranging to kidnap and release themselves…These are people who are no longer students but are hanging around the school, causing trouble and extorting students. We will put an end to that.”
Even at that, Collins Aigbogun, former Chairman of Esan West Local Government and Special Adviser to the Governor on youth mobilisation, is being held illegally on the allegation of being one of the masterminds of the protests over matters so obvious to residents who live daily under the siege of kidnappers.
While the hue and cry over killings and kidnapping in Ekpoma had yet to die, the Southern Kaduna towns were again in the news over the mass abduction of Christian worshippers. On January 18 in Kurmin Wali community, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, worshippers and residents of the community, totalling about 177 people, were abducted that day. While a few managed to escape, the rest were marched into the forest.
Not done, on January 31, the terrorists attacked Ugom Community, Maro Ward, also in Kajuru Local Government Area, Kaduna State, with casualties that include Mr Agola Hassan, Mr Samson Lawal, and Elder Mr Baba Apolo. The incidents have left residents distraught, pondering over when the cycle of death and abduction would end.
Certainly, the level of insecurity in the country is escalating daily despite government efforts to curb it. From a low-intensity insurgency in the northeast of the country underlined by the murderous activities of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, it has morphed into generalised banditry in the northwest of the country. This is not confined to the northern part of the country; it has also spread into the south.
Several villages and towns are pillaged, and many inhabitants are either killed or abducted. These criminal activities have been ongoing since 2009, when Mohammed Yusuf, the Boko Haram leader, was executed extra-judicially by the state. It is now spanning into the third decade with dangerous permutations that border on religious and political subtexts.
The culpability of the security forces and state authorities is obvious in the referenced cases. In Ekpoma, the trajectory of kidnapping in the town is well-known to the residents, and the security formations cannot claim ignorance of it, besides being unable to bring the situation under control. However, they only responded brazenly against the students who brought the matter to national consciousness by dawn raids and arrests in their hostels and rented apartments. The perception in the town is that the security forces in the town are obsessed with so-called ‘yahoo boys’. What is depressing about the Ekpoma situation is that residents can point to places where ransom is paid to kidnappers, such as Olelo-Erah, a neighbouring town to Emaudo, Ekpoma, located in Owan West. Why have the security forces not moved against the criminals through sting operations? The solution to the insecurity in the Edo Central Senatorial District, in which Ekpoma is located, lies with the Police. The Inspector General should appoint intelligence-savvy Area Commanders and Divisional Police officers to calm the situation.
In the Kurmin Wali community abduction, the state government and security forces were also initially in denial.
Reportedly, Kaduna’s police commissioner called news of the abduction a lie peddled by conflict merchants until Benjamin Hundeyin, the national police spokesman, confirmed the incident. And Uba Sani, the state governor, expressed his commitment to the protection of lives and property. Nevertheless, the incident-induced police presence in Kurmin Wali falls far short of the expectations of residents who said the police were there only to compile a list of the victims.
Governments at the three tiers of government need to task themselves to solve this problem of insecurity and the materialisation of a huge abduction market. It would be recalled that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report in late 2024 indicated that an estimated N2.23 trillion (approximately $1.41 billion) was paid as ransom to kidnappers and bandits in Nigeria between May 2023 and April 2024. In the same report, a perception survey, NBS, claimed that between May 2023 and April 2024, 614,937 Nigerians were killed and 2,235,954 kidnapped.
Government agencies, such as the police and interest groups, even sought to controvert the NBS report. This is a reality all too familiar to Nigerians living under the siege of terrorists of all hues. The government must walk the talk and realise the truth of governance, which is about the security of lives and property. More concrete and more urgent steps are required to address this national scourge, which is fast spreading to the nooks and corners of the country. Today, as things are, only very strong-hearted investors will do business in the country.
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