What would have been a regular day for Oluwatosin turned out to be one of the worst days of her life. It was some minutes past 8 pm when she heard the sound of shattering glass from her neighbour’s apartment. She was home with her brother’s wife and niece and had no clue who was shattering the glass or the intention behind it.

When the intruders broke into the door of her apartment, Oluwatosin’s worst nightmare came to life. The intruders ordered her and her brother’s wife out of the house, handed her niece to another woman and commanded them out of their apartment in Deidei, Abuja.

They were kidnappers. Gripped with fear, she did as was told. Together with other abductees, she followed the kidnappers as they journeyed through a bush.

“Those guys were so conversant with the path. There were some footpaths already, and we created footpaths in other bushes,” said Oluwatosin.

They spent two nights in a bush in Abuja. Oluwatosin told FIJ she could see Zuma Rock from where they were. Two days later, they began their voyage to Kaduna on foot. While they were there, the kidnappers contacted the family members of the abductees and requested ransom.

“They (the kidnappers) requested 50 million naira, but after negotiating, it was reduced to five million naira,” Oluwatosin told FIJ. Her family was able to secure the ransom. After paying the ransom, she was set free.

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A THRIVING CRIME

Oluwatosin’s story is not the first of its kind. She was one of the 339 people abducted from various communities in Nigeria’s capital city in 2023. FIJ gathered that about 50 people have been abducted in the FCT since the start of 2024, which was just two weeks ago.

Although kidnapping cases are not cutting-edge incidents in Nigeria or anywhere in the world, the recent cases across the country, particularly in the country’s capital city, Abuja, have Nigerians living in fear.

According to Emeka Okoro, a security research analyst at SBM Intelligence, kidnapping has become a profession because it is now an easy way to make money. “This is mainly due to the state of the economy,” he told FIJ. “Dabbling into crime has become an excellent alternative for idle minds.”

According to a report published by SBM Intelligence in 2020, kidnappers demanded over N19 billion as ransom, while over N1.6 billion was paid as ransom between July 2021 and June 2022.
In the wake of the recent cases, Nigerians have stormed social media to express their dissatisfaction and solicit funds to pay the ransom of people in kidnappers’ dens.

One such ongoing crowdfund for ransom is the “Najeebaandhersisters” campaign on X. Nabeehah was kidnapped with her family and other residents of their community in their house. The abductors requested N60 million to release Nabeehah and her family. The story of their kidnapping made it to social media, and Nigerians have been donating to get the ransom that would guarantee their release ever since.

Since N60 million is a lot of money to come by for an average Nigerian, the family was unable to meet the deadline for the payment and had only raised N30 million. Infuriated by this, the kidnappers killed Nabeehah and warned her family that if they were unable to raise the ransom, they would kill all her sisters. They went on to increase the ransom to N100 million. A few days later, the kidnappers increased it to N700 million.

Nabeehah’s case opened the door to the discovery of more kidnappings, and people have begun donating to pay the ransoms of the abductees. FIJ gathered that currently, Nigerians are crowdfunding for at least five ransoms, totalling about N230 million.

The amounts requested by kidnappers as ransoms are lump sums of money that are often hard to come by, but relatives of victims still try all they can to raise the funds. Sometimes, they go as far as selling their properties, taking loans from banks and crowdfunding, which further immerses them into poverty.

READ ALSO: Less Than 2 Months After Ribadu Declared Kaduna Road Safe, Kidnappers Return

TONE-DEAF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND AN UNRESPONSIVE GOVERNMENT

Nigeria is slowly becoming a crime scene, and the government is watching with arms crossed as the rate of abduction increases daily and families are left to bear the brunt of an unresponsive government and tone-deaf agencies. Yesterday, Tinubu, the President and Chief Security Officer of Nigeria, was busy attending the second swearing-in of Hope Uzodinma as Governor of Imo State, and today, he was at the launch of books written in honour of Muhammadu Buhari, the immediate past president.

Following Oluwatosin’s abduction, her family reached out to the police to seek help in securing her release. In a sane clime, the police would have taken action and utilised every means within their reach to ensure her release, but this was not the case.

To the family’s surprise, the police advised them to negotiate with the abductors and find every means possible to secure the ransom. This nonchalant attitude of government agencies to issues of utmost importance, such as the security of citizens, is not alien.

In most instances, the police and other state security operatives fail to respond rapidly to kidnappings. “These evil elements have infiltrated our police, army, the DSS and other security agencies, and that is the reason all efforts being made to tackle this menace and the large funds being allocated for security are not yielding the expected results,” said Okoro.

While responding to an X user who expressed his dissatisfaction with the way the police were handling Nabeeha’s case, Muyiwa Adejobi, the police spokesperson, said: “Don’t cry more than the bereaved”.

Don't cry more than the bereaved . Ok https://t.co/tE2a67yAp1

— Prince Olumuyiwa Adejobi (@Princemoye1) January 14, 2024

This response, coming from a member of the police force who ought to assure Nigerians about the release of the kidnapping victims at a time when many people are scared for their lives, is a testament to the tone-deaf nature and nonchalance of government agencies in Nigeria.

READ ALSO: Kubwa, Aso Rock’s ‘Backyard’, Has Become Kidnapper’s Playground. Here’s How Residents Live

A TICKING TIME BOMB

The Nigerian security system is deeply flawed, and this is endangering the lives of Nigerians. The Nigerian government has also taken a defeatist approach to this issue. Instead of fixing the inherent flaws in the security system, they have resorted to advising families of kidnapped victims to pay ransom to kidnappers and, in some cases, assist in paying ransom.

In 2021, for instance, bandits kidnapped about 300 schoolboys, and reports had it that the Katsina State Government paid N30 million before they were released. The government, however, denied the claim.

Similarly, Isa Pantami, a former minister of digital economy, donated N50 million towards securing the release of Nabeehah’s family.

“When the government fails to fulfil its constitutional obligations of protecting the lives and property of its citizens, it is an open invitation to kidnappers and other criminal elements to have free access by storming the homes of innocent struggling people and picking them up without any form of resistance and protection,” said Okoro.

Although the payment of ransom can help secure the release of victims, it is like placing a band-aid on a diabetic sore. In April 2022, the Nigerian Senate passed a bill to criminalise the payment of ransom for the release of abducted persons, but many Nigerians kicked against this because of a seemingly lack of trust in the government.

According to Okoro, ransom payments fuel the kidnapping industry and pose a threat to the state. “In the sense that as long as people get kidnapped and ransom is paid for their release, the kidnapping business will continue to hinder whatever steps the government takes to tackle it,” he said. “If the ransom is not paid for the release of abductees, the kidnappers would naturally lose interest in the business.”

However, the relatives of victims would not fold their arms and watch their loved ones get killed without making an effort to get them released. “Until the government makes intentional efforts to curb this spiralling lucrative business, kidnapping will continue to be an attractive venture in Nigeria,” Okoro told FIJ.