The Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik, has decried the alarming rate of teenagers’ involvement in kidnapping and banditry activities in the state.
The Chief Judge raised the alarm while speaking at the end of her working visit to the Minna old Correctional Custody on Tuesday, describing the increasing proportion of teenagers’ involvement in banditry activities as worrisome.
Justice Halima Ibrahim described the trends as disturbing and worrisome, calling on the security agencies to step up efforts to curtail the ugly trend.
“You people are making travellers on the highways fearful. You keep on terrorising innocent travellers and residents, putting them in perpetual fear,” she told the teenagers at the Minna old Correctional Custody during her working visit to the centre.
According to the CJ, the involvement of underaged individuals in armed banditry and kidnapping activities is posing a serious threat to travellers and residents.
“What do you use the ransom you collect from your victims for? How much have you collected so far from your victims? Why can’t you engage in meaningful ventures other than kidnapping innocent victims for ransom?” she queried.
Most of the kidnapping suspects awaiting trial at the Minna Old Correctional Custody were teenagers between the ages of 18 and 19 years.
According to the Chief Judge, the activities of these teenagers are a serious security threat to the country, particularly in the North.
However, the CJ could not attend to their cases as their trials are still ongoing in court, while those who admitted to their involvement in kidnappings were summarily convicted during the exercise.
It was observed that most of the kidnapping suspects awaiting trial were Fulanis and mostly teenagers.
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