Kidnap Den: The hell Nigerians go through

• how they maltreat victims

By OKOSUN DENNIS

Nigerians are going through one of the most excruciating moments in history. Economically, per capital income is decreasing due to biting recession. Despite various permutations and prescriptions and economist of possible recline of recession in the next quarter, the effect of the economic crunch cannot be estimated.

After the emergence and acclaimed “technical defeat” of Boko Haram sects, the country is enmeshed in another unholy war with Fulani herdsmen, kidnappings, other pockets of monstrous killings and maiming of citizens with reckless abandonment.

As incidences of kidnap are becoming monstrous; victims recounts hellish conditions they forcefully go through in the hands of captors before regaining freedom.

Despite death or life sentence imposed on convicted suspects by some state government like Lagos and Ogun states, avalanche of cases of kidnaps is an indication that the criminals seem not to be swayed by such harsh punishment that would be melted out on them if convicted.

National Daily’s investigation revealed that  victims are kept in the most bizarre places; often times in slums, shanties, ghettos, bushes, valleys, hills and mountains where they are met to go through hallowing experience in the hands of their unfriendly host.

Often times, they are feed with food like bread, gari, indomie and other sundry cereals for day-long before they are set free.

Unfortunately, some victims with poor health conditions like diabetes, hypertension etc are exposed to humongous health hazards. Most times, they are visited with premature death orchestrated by lack of medication during the period of captivity or as a result of torture they are subjected to.

Recently, the former Director of the Department of State Security (DSS), Mr. Mike Ejiofor, gave a tale of nasty experience in the hands of some rag-tagged Fulani herdsmen that kidnapped him along Okene-Obajana road.

During his four days of torture, he had nothing to eat or drink. To compound his despairs, the herdsmen had no water but only depended on a stagnant pond for water in the bush. Due to the unhygienic nature of the water, he refused to drink but found favour in a cashew tree close to his “forced abode” and relied on it for food for four days.

Narrating how he survived the four days at an obscure location in Kogi State, North Central Nigeria, Ejiofor said the gunmen threatened to kill him when it became obvious that his brother couldn’t immediately garner more than N1m as ransom.
National Daily further gathered that Ejiofor was kidnapped while returning to Abuja from his village in Delta state in February. The gunmen were said to have emerged from the bushes and started shooting indiscriminately; seized and forced him to trek about 80 kilometres before demanding for N30m ransom.

Ejiofor, however lashed at the inefficiency of the security agencies, especially the incapacitation of the police to confront the kidnappers, who, he claimed, possessed “sophisticated weapons.”

“The type of weapons the gunmen had on them was so sophisticated that the police cannot fight them in the bush. They are not Fulani herdsmen but Fulani gunmen because they had nothing to do with cattle. There were no cattle around them.

“They took us into the bush having trekked for over an hour into a vast forest before we stopped under a tree which turned out to be our abode for four days. I was compelled to wait till 10pm before I was allowed to communicate with my relatives.

Who are their victims?

Investigation revealed that unfortunately, everybody is a victim. From the Priesthood to Royal institution, academia, students, business mogul to private individuals and the diplomatic corps; are their potential victims.

They have no friend and spare no foe. They have decimated and desecrated places once referred to as “untouchable.” The smouldering fears from their nefarious activities, to a reasonable extent, is affecting the economy as some individuals have fled the country or relocated their business enterprise to countries where they are spared the vagaries of such insipid attacks for ransom.

ALSO SEE: How Lagos Police Command uncovered kidnapper’s hideout

Obi Akaeze Ofulue 111, of Ubulu-Uku Kingdom in Aniocha North Local Government of Delta state, was abducted along Obior/Igbodo Road and killed.

His decomposing body was later recovered 16 days later along Ekpon road, Edo state. He was killed after his abductors had collected ransom from the family.

Also, the Oniba of Iba, Oba Goriola Oseni, was seized from Ojo, Lagos. During his three weeks of abduction, he was subjected to inhuman treatment in addition to being feed with food items he hardly eats. Eventually, about N 15.1m was taking as ransom from the family before he was set free. The criminals also extended their tentacles to the palace of Laragunsin of Iyasan of Ondo, Oba Abiodun Oyewunmi. Having crapped him under torturous condition, they turned the family to ATM machine racking from them daily N40, 000 for recharge card and N40m ransom.

Feeding formula

Findings revealed that feeding the captors is of serious concern as victims are either left for days without food or where there is provision of food; but not the kind that would satisfy the need of the victim.

Why kidnapped victims confessed that they had gari and water, others say they were feed with biscuit and indomie. For some, they chose to embark on hunger strike all through the period in captivity.

Dr Johnbull, (not his real name) a lecturer at the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, was kidnapped few years ago and kept in captivity for over a week before he was released.

The Edo state born lecturer told National Daily that apart from the “regimented and highly organised way” the kidnappers conducted themselves, he was feed with rice which they buy from food vendors and bring to him in his conscripted abode in captivity.

He further explained that he was lucky to have been “treated nicely,” maybe, because he “cooperated with their orders.”

However, not very many victims have been lucky to have had it good with kidnappers as some victims die in captivity from torture, shot or bowed to the cold hands of death following debilitating health conditions. Most times, those who have been so unlucky and die in the hands of their abductors; had their bodies dumped at the corner of the street to decompose.

Some are beaten mercilessly on account of insubordination, lack of cooperation or they are not getting good money from the relatives or friends they are negotiating ransom with.

ALSO SEE: Falae’s kidnappers bag life jail

Unlimited causalities

The long histories of kidnapping which increased during militancy in the Niger Delta have had some victims despatched to the great beyond.

On 17 March, 2009, a Benin City billionaire and owner of “God is Good Motors,” Mr GodGood Nlakosin was killed after the kidnappers grabbed a whooping N60m from the family. The victim who was said to be nursing chronic hypertension succumbed to death due to lack of medication or died following mental and physical torture he went through in captivity.
Ejiofor also revealed how he survived for the four days in captivity without food or water, saying: “They (Fulani Gunmen) were drinking the water from the pounds in the bush and they asked me if I will not drink, I said I will not drink. What saved me was that there was Cashew Trees all over the forest and I had to eat Cashew for the four days to survive”.
The security analyst who did not disclose if ransom was paid and how much, however thanked his friends who came to his aid before he was released but harped on the “need to declare a security emergency in the country.”

Solution

Proffering solution to the malady said, the former Director, DSS, Ejiofor said: “We have crisis in our hands. Things are not working well. We must declare emergency in the security sub sector. The greatest of all the challenges we have now is the Fulani gunmen,” he said.
It is only instructive to indicate that the attitude of government to tackling kidnap cases in the country is not only lopsided but lack the bite to deter abductors from perpetrating their heinous crimes considering the weak laws against the crime.

If the government must tackle the problem of kidnapping in the country, according  to the security analysts, government at the centre must enact stringent laws that will commit any offender to death.

“Until we do that, every measure now is cosmetic and lacked the effrontery to stop kidnappers from continuing their nefarious acts.”