The Changing Dynamics of Kidnapping in Nigeria and Implications for National Development

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue X, October 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

The Changing Dynamics of Kidnapping in Nigeria and Implications for National Development

Henry Terna Ahom, & Kenneth T. Azaigba,
Department of History and Strategic Studies, Federal University Dutsin-Ma Katsina State, Nigeria

Abstract: Kidnapping for ransom before the 1990s was not a very prominent form of criminality until the Niger Delta militants began using it to press home their demands for redress to perceived injustices done their region. Ransom payment made kidnapping a very attractive crime and it spread from the Niger Delta region to all parts of Southern Nigeria. From Southern Nigeria, kidnapping for ransom spread to the Northern part of the country and was embraced by criminal gangs and terrorist groups such as Boko Haram; an Islamic group fighting a war of insurgency in the North East. This opened a new vista of criminality in Nigeria. Since then it has grown in proportion to a much sought after criminal act by criminally minded persons due to the high monetary gains involved. With the aid of mainly secondary sources, the paper uses both narrative and analytical tools to dilate on contours of the problem. It argues that kidnapping has festered in the country due to the introduction of ransom and this is generating damning implications for national development. The paper makes suggestions on ways to contain the hydra headed act of criminality currently ravaging the country.

I. INTRODUCTION

Kidnapping before the 1990s was seldom in Nigeria. Nigerians held about it in either the electronic or print media. However, kidnapping made its debut in the Niger Delta area in the early 1990s. The people of the Niger Delta had long agitated against injustices melted out to the region despite the fact that it contained oil, the main source of the country’s wealth. The agitations led to the formation of militant groups. It was these militant groups in the Niger Delta that introduced kidnapping in the country. They kidnapped expatriate staff of multi-national oil companies working in the area to supposedly draw international attention to their agitations. The victims were kept for a period of time and released without any ransom payment. This strategy was meant to draw attention to their plight. However, when oil companies began to pay ransom for their kidnapped members to be released, a new dimension to kidnapping was introduced in the country. The payment of ransom to kidnappers made it a very attractive business and many youths took to it since it offered an avenue for instant wealth.
In order to contain youth restiveness especially kidnapping in the Niger Delta region, the government of late President Umaru Yar’aAdua introduced an amnesty programme. But

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