CURRENT REPORT BLOG Security experts and victims’ families have stated that most kidnapping events in the Federal Capital Territory and other parts of the nation go unreported to the police, despite the rising number of kidnappings occurring nationwide.
Speaking with our correspondents, victims of abduction and their families from Abuja and other regions of the nation disclosed that they paid ransoms without disclosing the occurrences to the authorities.
Additionally, Amnesty International and the Nigerian Society for Criminologists blamed the underreporting of abductions on a lack of trust in the security authorities and fear of retaliation from the kidnappers.
Previously localized in the North-West, kidnapping has recently expanded to other states and the Federal Capital Territory.
A private investigator, Afolabi Solanke, has said that victims were afraid to report abductions due to lack of trust and confidence in the government authorities.
Solanke stated, “People are scared for their lives. They don’t trust the capacity of the police or military, so they prefer to go on social media to talk about the abduction of their relatives rather than go to the police.
“Also, the police and the military are not helping matters – they’re supposed to be following these incidents as they’re being reported on social media; it’s sad the police always want people to report abduction incidents to them before they take action.”
Saka Folusho, a former military officer, stated that kidnapping cases go unreported and that the absence of harsher penalties for the kidnappers was fueling the abduction industry’s growth. He emphasized that kidnapping is a widespread problem that occurs everywhere, but victims and their families are reluctant to report cases to the police. He said that the underreporting of abduction incidents was the fault of the system and that this contributed to the growth of kidnapping for ransom.
“The system we have in place currently allows the kidnap-for-ransom to thrive because there are no stiffer punishments for apprehended kidnappers. In a situation where you don’t have this in place in a country, you are faced with a situation we have at hand.’’ He said.
Former Army spokesperson, Brigadier-General, Sani Usman also added that ‘’The gullibility of an average Nigerian, you know, to pay ransom. Such payment of ransom, so long as it is there, kidnapping will thrive.
“But again, you look at the other ingredients that support this nefarious criminal activity. People are really in need of a means of livelihood, and they just have to do everything to make ends meet. And some of them, unfortunately, some people will aid and abet.’’
