Who is Behind Kidnapping the Northern Nigeria.

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Kidnapping is now so rampant in the country especially in the North West and North Central region of the country, such that Nigerians are no longer sympathetic when news of fresh kidnapping breaks.

This, however, is very worrisome to say the least, as the impact that kidnapping and other crimes that are associated with it have grave consequences not just domestically but it also tarnishes the image of the country internationally.

While kidnapping came to prominence by activities of militants in 2006 when they took hostages of many foreign expatriates working in the region as a form of protest to what they described as inequality in the region, what is prevalent now however is kidnapping by bandits and their victims of their kidnapping act ranging from school children, traditional leaders, top business persons and even ordinary citizens that are just traveling on the road.

Another notable contrast between the kidnapping that happened in the Sothern part of the country and what is prevalent in the north is the lack of affluence that kidnappers from these regions show. For example, while notable leaders of the militants like High Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo (popularly called Tompolo), Asari Dokubo, and even the notorious kidnapping kingpin, Chukwudimeme Onwuamadike popularly known as Evans who were into kidnapping are valued into billions of Naira all of which is shown in their flamboyant lifestyle, dressing, ownership of properties, cars and even in the case of Chief Tompolo, a private jet, the same is not the case with the bandits and kidnappers from the northern region.

First of all, there is no indication as to who the leaders of these bandits are or even a figurehead. While billions have been collected from families of victims as ransom, the kidnappers remain poor, looking lean and tattered without any trace of wealth. This brings up very obvious questions, where does the money receive as ransom from the kidnappers go? Who are the leaders of the bandits and kidnappers? What is the reason behind the seeming leniency that is being grated to these bandits and kidnappers?

Let us x-ray the level of governance response to militancy and kidnapping in the Niger Delta and that of banditry and kidnapping of the north right now. Just as Ugwuanyi et. al posited in their paper, the initial response of the government to the activities of militancy and kidnapping in the region was military repression that involved forceful control of the activities of the militants and kidnappers using the Joint Task Force (JTF) notably of which was “The Odi massacre”, an attack carried out on November 20, 1999, by the Nigerian military on the predominantly Ijaw town of Odi in Bayelsa State.  The response now to the kidnapping and banditry in the north remains negotiation. From the first high-profile kidnapping that happened in the north which was that of the Chibok girls on the night of 14-15, April 2014 to the most recent, the kidnapping in Zamfara, which happened a few days, the government always seem ready to negotiate with these bandits. In fact, Ahmed Guni has risen to the unofficial and self-acclaimed position of negotiator, who have ‘helped’ the government and parents of kidnapped students and staff in negotiating ransom and effecting their release. So another question is raised here, why the change of approach to dealing with militants from the south and bandits from the north?

The government has in the past few years raised up various measures that are supposed to make tracking down of illegal activities. When the Central Bank of Nigeria announced the introduction of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) in 2015, one of the importance it highlighted was that the BVN will make sure that “fraudulent transactions are minimized if not totally eliminated”. BVN uses biometric technology to register customers in the financial system. It records these physical features which are unique to individuals – fingerprints and the face.

The record would be used to identify the person afterward. Once a person’s biometrics have been recorded, and BVN issued the account would be accessed through BVN and vice versa. As reported recently in many news outlets, bandits now use accounts in collecting ransom for the kidnapped victims from families and friends, and even when monies are paid to these accounts, the banks really do nothing to stop these monies from leaving accounts or even tracking the account holders. In fact, the monies now requested by these bandits are so astronomical that it suggests that payment of such can only be made by wired transaction and not cash. For example, in the aftermath of the Greenfield University saga, a parent revealed that the sum of 180 million was paid by the parents without the aid of the government to secure the release of their children. Bandits who kidnapped the students and staff of the College of Agriculture and Animal Science, Bakura in Zamfara State have demanded N350 million ransom. So it begs the question, does the BVN actually carry out its function as advised by the CBN earlier? If it does, why are banks reluctant in blocking these accounts that receive such payment?

We will also not forget the uproar that followed the NIN registration. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, said Federal Government would not go back on the verification of National Identity Number (NIN) and Subscriber Identification Modules (SIM) aimed at curbing the rising insecurity level in the country. While it was postulated that the NIN provides a database that will be used to capture the identity of Nigerians home and abroad, linking it to the SIM was to ensure that everyone can be traced with their numbers especially on issues that relate to insecurity in the country. So again, why is it that bandits and kidnappers are able to make calls to parents of their hostages, demand ransom and there are not tracked?

So again, despite the killings, destruction of properties, disruption of peace, and heating up the polity that these bandits carry out, why is there this level of sympathy towards them being requested by the northern leaders and groups. For example, during the Greenfield University saga, various pleas were sent to the bandits to be rational and “fear God”.

The government was even encouraged to work with and negotiate with the bandits. Mr. Danjuma who is the chairman of the National Parent Teachers Association of Nigeria was quoted as saying “For me, I think the government should have a rethink about their decision not to dialogue or negotiate with the bandits. My position is based on the fact that entering into dialogue with them may not necessarily mean that government must have to pay them money”.

Earlier in the year, the caucus of legislators comprising of three senators and four House of representatives members from Niger and Zamfara states, two states that are seriously being ravaged and destabilized by activities of these bandits pleaded with the federal government to grant amnesty to these bandits as a way of luring them to the negotiating table. What was very interesting about this story was the same day these lawmakers were making this plea, armed bandits attacked a boarding school and kidnapped many students and workers for which it can be asked, why are lawmakers pleading for amnesty for bandits who have no even registered any intention to surrender and are actively operational?

All these pointers go to show that ‘there is more to this than meets the eyes’ in the issue of banditry and kidnapping in the Northern part of the country. Where does the money go? Who does the money go to? The monies paid for ransom so far run into billions of Naira and it is impossible to say that these monies are untraceable.  The fact that these monies are not being tracked suggests that there is a systemic organizational structure that ensures that the monies are not being tracked, there is also a system that ensures that these bandits are not being traced and that they are protected from prosecution.

The action of the Nigerian military towards militancy in the Niger Delta shows that the Nigerian military and other allied armed forces if given the mandate are capable of dealing with these bandits. Only recently, The Nigerian Army says the troops of 8 Division operating in Zamfara and adjoining states have eliminated ‘many commanders’ and 48 members of bandits’ gangs in the North-west.

Government should give the army the free hand to d0 its work because slacking and allowing these bandits to roam and operate freely gives dangerous precedence to the entire country. For example, only recently, the Niger Delta militant group has begun to raise some noise on their own front giving ultimatums. This is surely not unconnected with the success of kidnapping the northern part of the country.

The budgetary allocation for defense in Nigeria annually is usually around US$1.9 billion, this is the highest in Sub-Sahara Africa and only second to South Africa in the whole of Africa, the institutional corruption that is prevalent in the country no doubt plays a role in why this high defense budget is not reflected on the performance of the military but no doubt, there is still enough in the arsenal of the country’s military to end the insecurity in the country. Recent happening gives cause for hopes but then again, until the forces behind all it is addressed, whatever victory that is achieved by the military will be in the field will be a case of step forward, two steps back.

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