· Kaduna tops in kidnapping, casualty, ransom payment
As the federal government steps-up efforts to arrest the widespread kidnapping of citizens for ransom by terrorists and bandits, a new report has indicated that the North-west of the country leads as haven for kidnappers.
The report by security and political risk research firm, SBM Intelligence, listed over 500 episodes of abduction between July 2021 and June 2022 across the country.
North-west leads other regions
In the report published this August, and reported by Premium Times, six of the seven states in the North-west witnessed a total of 177 incidents, or 35.4 per cent making it the most impacted region by banditry and kidnapping-for-ransom.
The region had the most abducted individuals throughout the year-long period, with 2,199, or 65.1 per cent of the 3,379 total kidnapped individuals.
The index shows that Kaduna State had the highest number of kidnapped persons with 1,119 out of 3, 379 persons kidnapped from 84 incidents, followed by Zamfara State with 836 persons reportedly abducted in the state.
Kano State had the least with only eight persons reportedly abducted in the state during the period.
Only Kebbi State from the region did not record any reported incident during the period under review.
Next on the index is the North-central region with 108 reported cases with 719 persons kidnapped representing 21.6 per cent.
The South-south is next having 67 total kidnapping incidents during the one-year period, or 13.4 per cent of all reported cases, while the South-east region reported a total of 62 kidnapping cases between July 2021 and June 2022, or 12.4 per cent of all reported cases in the country.
The South-west had 54 total occurrences or 10.8 per cent, with the North-east accounting for the least kidnapped persons of 54 at 1.6 per cent of the national total.
According to the report, Niger State recorded the highest number of kidnapped persons at 36, while Nasarawa scored the least at nine persons.
In comparison to the other regions, South-west recorded a total number of 119 persons at 3.5 per cent, while the South-south recorded a total number of 194 at 5.7 per cent in the year of the kidnapped persons.
Osun State recorded the least number of kidnapped cases with two incidents, and Ekiti State recorded the highest at 40 kidnapped persons in the region.
The South-east region recorded a total of 112 persons at 3.6 per cent during the period.
The North-west region likewise saw the greatest number of fatalities at 331, or 69.8 per cent of the total number of 474 casualties in the year.
And the North-east scored 17 casualties at 3.6 per cent, while the North-central region recorded 106 at 22.4 per cent.
According to the report, there were 20 overall casualties in the South-west while there were 37 total cases of casualties in the South-south region during the period or 7.8 per cent of all cases.
South-east region recorded a total of 51 cases of casualties at 10.8 per cent.
Ransom
The report, ‘The Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry’, shows that about N653.7 million was paid as ransom in Nigeria between July 2021 and June 2022, a period of one of year.
The security report also recorded that N6.531 billion ($9.9 million) was demanded in ransom in the year but N653.7 million ($1.2 million) was paid as ransom for the release of captives.
“Based on what we could verify, between July 2021 and June 2022, no fewer than 3,420 people were abducted across Nigeria, with 564 others killed in violence associated with abductions. In the ensuing period, N6.531 billion was demanded in exchange for the release of captives while a fraction of that sum (N653.7 million) was paid as ransom
“We have taken care not to include the later ransom payments for the Abuja-Kaduna train incident as most of those victims were released in July 2022.
“It was reported on 25 July, 2022 that eight Nigerian hostages parted with ₦100 million each, while a Pakistani hostage paid ₦200 million,” the report read, in part.
El-Rufai writes Buhari
Worried by the growing presence of terrorists and bandits, the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, in a leaked memo to President Muhammadu Buhari, warned that members of the Jama’atu Ansarul Musulmina Fi’biladis Sudan, popularly known as Ansaru are hibernating in Kuyello district of Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of the State.
The terrorists, according to reports, moved to Birnin Gwari in 2012 when they broke away from Boko Haram.
El-Rufai in the memo, alerted the president that the terrorists are exercising control over social and economic activities and dispensation of justice in the area where they are believed to have established a “permanent operational base.”
