Nigeria going through epidemic of kidnapping —Amnesty Int’l

GLOBAL Watchdog, Amnesty International, on Monday raised the alarm on the increasing kidnapping cases in Nigeria.

Its Nigerian Mission charged the administration of President Bola Tinubu to treat the epidemic as a national emergency.

In a statement, the body said, “President Bola Tinubu must treat the rampant kidnapping that has become part of daily life in Nigeria as an emergency by taking all lawful measures to end the cycle of violence and fear people in Nigeria are living under today.”

Providing a disturbing data, AI disclosed, “Last week over 45 people travelling between Otukpo in Benue State and Enugu were kidnapped and nothing has been heard about them yet.

“Also last week, Nabeelah – a student was killed in captivity because her family could not urgently meet kidnappers’ demand for N60 million ransom. Her siblings are still in captivity of the kidnappers.

“Also one of the 10 people kidnapped at an estate in Dutse near Abuja was killed over failure of her family to pay ransom.”

Isa Sanusi, Director, Amnesty International Nigeria, accused the administration of not doing enough to stem the ugly tide.

“We are now facing an epidemic of kidnapping. People in Nigeria a now living on the knife edge. Widespread insecurity and the chaos it causes have been exacerbated by routine kidnapping, as armed groups tighten their stranglehold on the country.

“Nigerian authorities must immediately stem the tide of kidnapping now.

“Many families choose not to report cases of kidnapping after paying ransom for fear of reprisals and as a result many incidents go undocumented. The current epidemic of kidnapping highlights the utter failure of the Nigerian authorities to effectively protect lives.

“The number of people in custody of armed groups and kidnappers is unknown. But the victims usually suffer shocking abuses. Several women and girls, including school children, have been viciously raped while in captivity. Those kidnapped are routinely tortured. Many are beaten, starved, threatened with death, raped, held blindfolded for several days, verbally and physically assaulted.

“The Nigerian authorities are yet to show any tangible commitment to addressing the escalating breakdown of security across the country. Whatever security measures being currently implemented are clearly not working, as people in Nigeria feel more unsafe.

“Security of all people should be the priority of the government. People should not be left helplessly at the mercy of ruthless gunmen. Failure to address the security concerns urgently will grossly enable human rights abuses” he charged.