Kidnapping For Ransom: The Growing Million Dollar Industry Of Nigeria After Oil And Gas -By Prince Samuel Adesegun Egunjobi

The history of kidnapping in Africa can be traced to slave raiders, who raid indigenous African communities and kidnapped the inhabitants with intentions of selling them to slave merchants and others who needed the service of slaves for their plantations and factories across the ocean of Africa.

With the proscription of slave trade, the business of selling humans for cheap labour reduced but rebranded into another form surviving thousands of years with service of slave raiders no longer needed and merchants becoming labour agency recruiting Africans for Arab nations and Western countries to work and earn.

The amalgamation of the southern protectorate with the northern protectorate in 1914 gave birth to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with independence of the newly country granted by British imperial master in 1960 and the independent country becoming a republic in 1963.

The demand and agitation of the youths of the Oil Producing Region after many years of neglect by the government, visible under-development despite the abundance of crude oil serving the entire country without a better life, injustice against their people, pollution of the environment due to oil exploration and gas flaring into the sky, marginalization in government appointment, militarization of the Niger Delta region and other perceived injustice and exploitation gravitated the youths and activists in the region into kidnapping of Oil magnate, Expatriates working with multinational organizations, Politicians, Foreign nationals, Professionals, Consultants and other cream de la cream of the society working in the region with intention of making money due to government insincerity

The administration of Former President Late Musa Yaradua hearken to the cries of the people of the region, promised to attend to their demands and ameliorate the collective problems of the Niger Delta region, to stall the bombings of oil pipelines and kidnapping of expatriates working in the region. He proposed an amnesty programme for the youths of the region to lay down their weapons and embrace peace, as no meaningful development can occur in the region without peace.

The current patterns of kidnapping packaged and branded from the northern parts of Nigeria by the Fulani doesn’t target the wealthy or the rich or foreign expatriates, but a terror machinations designed to enslave both the poor, decapitate the rich, oppressed school going children, extort travelers, government officials, destroy properties, kill farmers and others.

This terror syndicate working in advancing the cause of Al-Qaeda, ISIS, JNIM, Ansaru, Boko haram into deeper parts of Nigeria and west Africa, have redefined the meaning of kidnapping to become a business where human life is traded for millions of naira as ransom, and ransom channel to procurement of firearms to expand their operations.

These strategies are similar in pattern and how they occur;
Firstly, they attacked a community or traveling vehicles.
Secondly, They kill and Kidnapped the rest into the forest.
Thirdly, They call the families of those in captivity to bring a substantial sum for their release (Millions of ₦)

The reactive measures of the government armed forces against banditry and the recent onslaught in the Middlebelt/Northwest/Northeast against foreign mercenaries and local collaborators kidnapping and terrorising the area, the superior firepower of the combined forces of the Nigeria army and it allies against these terror groups called bandits, have recently prompted their sympathizers and some clerics to demand for “Amnesty” For Fulani bandits and negotiations with these groups without clear demand, citing the Niger Delta amnesty programme as a case study and precedence for such initiative.

It is on record that operation safe haven of the Nigeria army where acclaimed repentant terrorists are rehabilitated and reintegrated back into the society do not only embolden fighters but motivated others to join in their cause with government programme promising them safe return even when they are captured by the gallant soldiers of the Nigeria army.

Some unemployed locals getting inspired from successful kidnapping operations of the Fulanis, they also organized themselves harming innocent citizens to raise millions in order to become rich overnight, forgetting that wealth building doesn’t happen overnight as it requires efforts, long term planning, value creation, sacrifices and guiding principles

With minimum wage at ₦70, 000 per month and ransom placed at Millions per head, if the widespread unemployment is not address and kidnapping is still flourishing without effective security checks, unproductive Yahoo boys and other ritual killers could redirect the scope of their criminal operations mirroring the style of the Fulani kidnappers without regard for humanity

Prince Samuel Adesegun Egunjobi, MBA