Tech-Savvy Deviants in the Kidnapping Debacle
by Kehinde Abdulsalam
Saturday, 14th of September 2019 has been etched in Nigeria’s history as one of the country’s days of gloom. The kidnap of five teenagers and a lecturer with Baze University, Abuja on the said day remains a sad reminder.
While the incident was the most talked about issue on the mainstream and social media platforms, the twist was the release of one of the victims; Aishat Ardo after her father had paid a ransom of $15,000 in bitcoin. Yes in bitcoin currency.
Invented in 2018, Bitcoin is a decentralized digital cryptocurrency without a central bank or single administrator. It can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without the need for intermediaries.
Transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain.
It has been established that for now, transactions done via this platform would be difficult to track since its activities are not regulated by organised financial institutions.
With this hole created, some obviously ‘smart’ young Nigerians are taking advantage of the illegal act which has become a profitable venture among youths who apparently have now made a multi-million naira business of it.
What does this portend for the Nigeria’s security system wherein a criminal can operate, obtain ransom without a trace and then go on and on to pick up another victim?
In an exclusive interview with Rootstv Nigeria, Force Spokesman, Frank Mba had said the payment of ransom by kidnapped victims and members of their families are what encourage the business to thrive.
“The reason why kidnapping keeps thriving is because people pay ransoms, if we all could stand that we’ll not pay ransom again, the kidnappers will be knocked out of business. Yes you can argue that if you fail to pay ransom that you or your relative could be armed, I agree but at the same time, you could also look at the other side, if we all continue to pay without fighting back, without resistance, we are indirectly setting the stage up for greater people to be involved in kidnapping.
“As a responsible police agency, we’ll not willingly support the payment of ransom but like I said before, God has given people power to make decisions and when people make decisions within the confines of their homes, they cannot be subjected to absolute control by the policing agencies.
“It’s a whole lot of complicated web and there’s no quick fix. Mba said
Many have however questioned the submission of the Police Spokesman saying if the security officers had not performed optimally to nip in the bud the nefarious activities of the kidnapping syndicates, the kidnapping victims should not be blamed for paying ransoms as many who refused to pay have been reportedly killed at some point.
Most kidnappers are essentially young unemployed persons and the enterprise of kidnapping has become an instrument by victims of prolonged power abuse in an attempt to redress the injustice, insensitivity, irresponsibility and unresponsiveness meted out by the trustees of state power.
With the nation’s capital now a troubled location for the criminal act, its border to Kaduna State has been the hotbed and den of notorious kidnappers.
The relative peace and smooth ride seemingly enjoyed by motorists and passengers who ply the road is fast becoming history, as commuters are now forced to do so with their hearts in their hands.
On 6th August, 2019 gunmen killed the resident pastor of the Living Faith Church, Romi New Extension, in Kaduna State, Pastor Jeremiah Omolewa on the Kaduna -Abuja highway and in the process abducted his wife.
The incident took place while the pastor and the wife were traveling to Abuja. The gunmen opened fire on their vehicle, killing the pastor on the spot and took the wife into the bush. The son, it was learnt, escaped from the bandits. The abductors were said to have demanded N50m as ransom for the release of the wife.
Few weeks later, another pastor in charge of the Nagarta Baptist Church Ungwan Makiri, close to Udawa in Chikun Local Government Area of the state was also abducted by heavily armed men numbering over 20.
Also, on the 26 August, the kidnappers returned back to Kaduna-Abuja road and in a sporadic shoot out and kidnapped six persons among who were three final year law students of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria who were later released following payment of ransoms by their families.
It is important to state that with bitcoin replacing the physical cash for ransom, the Nigerian security apparatus is in dire need of reform to be able to face the challenges of twenty-first century crime detection, prevention and management.
To achieve this, the security personnel require proper training and equipment to withstand the dangers posed by commodified kidnappers and other criminals.
While the security architecture must improve its level of its intelligence gathering, government on its part must also look inward and address the pervasive youth unemployment and decayed public infrastructure to disabuse the minds of the youths from criminal activities.