CISLAC
Musa Rafsanjani
Kidnapping for
CISLAC
Musa Rafsanjani
Kidnapping for Ransom: CISLAC Decries Poor Proactive
Measures
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) is
seriously concerned over the growing but pervasive rate of
kidnapping, deliberately delayed response and the poor proactive
measures by the government in the country.
Since 2007, Nigeria has witness increased increasingly spate of
kidnapping in the South, particularly South-South and South-East
geo-political zones. In spite of the security agencies investment
in intelligence gathering to get advance information to nip their
activities in the bud and also the formation of the various special
Task Force on kidnapping, the business still strives.
While security of lives and property constitutes the fundamental
purpose of government, we find it worrisome that kidnapping for
ransom as a critical part of the evolution of crimes in Nigeria and
direct threat to the constitutional right to live and freedom of
movement of the people, has received little or no concern from the
Government of Nigeria despite persistent public outcries on its
accelerating unpleasant effects like killings, physical and
psychological trauma, and socio-economic setback, on the victims
and their families.
Most Nigerians had gone through the trauma of being guests of
Kidnappers. Apart from paying hefty ransom, many of the victims did
not live to tell their stories.
We are not unaware that kidnapping for ransom which began in the
South South region as a form of measure adopted by the agitating
youths clamouring for resource control and the Federal Government;
and in the North East region as a sustenance fund raising strategy
by the insurgents, remains a fast growing menace flooding the
country with exhausting financial demands that exacerbate existing
socio-economic burden on the victims and unprecedented intensity in
Zamfara, Borno, Adamawa, Kaduna, Katsina states, and other
extensively underreported cases.
We condemn poor response system and lack of appreciable
proactive measures by relevant authorities, given the glaring
danger alerts and trend of killings, ransoms and other
illegitimately frustrating demands on the victims.
We are worried over the present inefficiency, high-handedness
and underperformance of the security forces as clear manifestation
of unchecked secrecy and faulty recruitment processes that dominate
the forces.
Apart from the unaccountably questionable security votes, we are
surprise that despite the huge budgetary allocation to defence and
security in the country, the sector records severe systemic
under-performance, poor personnel appraisal and encouragement, and
dearth of appropriate incentives.
We are surprised that the increasingly budgetary allocation and
other financial considerations attributable to the sector are not
judiciously utilized to effectively upturn situations and
efficiently address the prevailing security challenges bedeviling
the country.
We are bothered by the poor state of infrastructural facilities
across the country creating high tendency for poor standards of
living with increasingly youth propensity to escape poverty and
socio-economic deprivation.
More importantly, while the rising youth unemployment with its
socio-economic and political effects is worrisome in the country,
we find apparent failure of the government to curb the challenge
through holistic revamping and transformation of the critical
sector shameful and disturbing.
Although the creation of employment opportunities to absorb
teeming youth constitutes majorly campaign promises and political
agenda of successive administrations, the government has however,
failed in initiating realistic needs assessment and appropriate
ideology to address the scourge.
We urge the review of recruitment process of the security agents
as they are clearly no match to terrorists and thugs. Wide-spread
corruption in security sector impacts the moral and equipment of
all security agencies. The re-prioritisation away from absurd
protection of politicians and governmental executives towards
intelligence gathering and prevention is required.
While the Police has a fundamental mandate to secure and protect
the citizens, the obsolete legal framework, catastrophic
mismanagement in the Police Force and the break-down of trust
between the Police and the citizenry leaves the police corps and
the citizens exposed to the violent crime. Nigerian police suffers
combat-like losses every day.
We therefore, demand prompt response by the relevant authorities
to bring under control the menace of mercantilist kidnappings.
We call for the immediate passage of the laws that will improve
the framework conditions for the Nigeria Police Force and other
agencies. We call for a holistic policy which will rapidly improve
prevention, sanctions and investigation of the kidnapping
epidemy.
We also call for clear lines of responsibilities and for
consequential dismissal of political appointees and commanding
officers if there is no rapid improvement measured by the decreased
rate of kidnappings across the nation.
We therefore, demand institution of an emergency response system
that will adequately interpret kidnapping in line with insurgency
and terrorism.
We call for independent anti-graft and judicial institutions to
award punishments for kidnapping and corruption in accordance with
the rule of the law without fear or favour; as well immediate
reform of the legal and judicial system to ensure strict compliance
with the relevant laws relating to kidnapping and financial
fraud.
We call for democratised political system enabling active youth
participation in governance through proactive transformation of
critical sector, holistic public policy and employment opportunity
towards youth-centred and people-oriented socio-economic
development.
We demand prompt confiscation or destruction of property and
seizure of finances acquired by any person or group of persons
found guilty of kidnapping.
We also call for adequate training and re-training, appreciable
performance appraisal and incentive system for the security
personnel with sufficient reward schemes for sustenance of the
families of deceased personnel who died in active service.
We further demand for adequate provision of social
infrastructural facilities across the country as enablers for
socio-economic transformation, employment generation, youth
participation and involvement, and poverty eradication.
Signed:
Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani)
Executive Director, CISLAC