On kidnapping

The Nigerian Army Gallantly broke the news of successfully rescuing Sheikh Ahmad Suleiman; a renowned Kano based Islamic Cleric who was kidnapped alongside five others in Katsina for 15 days. N300m was initially demanded from the kidnappers as ransom, the amount they later brought down to N30m.

While they further dished out images to convince people on his safe release, the Nigerian Army where economical with details of whether ransom was paid or not. And I further ask: was there any casualty or arrest on the side of the kidnappers or the Army during the rescue operation? And was he rescued untouched by the Nigerian Army having received orders from above simply because he is a renowned Islamic cleric? What about ordinary Nigerians that are being kidnapped on daily basis, to narrow it down to the North; in Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, etc?

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While we are happy with the news of the release of Sheikh Ahmad Suleiman, we want the government to show same spirit of seriousness to tackle the incessant cases of kidnappings which affect the downtrodden, the middle class, the wealthy and clergymen in the country.

Till today, the government did only little or nothing to arrest this ugly monster. The general view is that the government is showing nonchalant attitude towards the rising cases of kidnapping simply because in most cases, it affects ordinary Nigerians. Accusing fingers are also pointing at the police and other security Agencies for their complicity in tackling the menace. They are being accused of directly or indirectly benefiting from the trend. The argument here is, if technology can be deployed to track stolen mobile phones anywhere in the country, why can’t same technological devices be used to locate and arrest these kidnappers who boldly communicate freely with the relatives of their victims to negotiate ransom?

It is disheartening that many people lost their lives in the hands of kidnappers mostly as a result of their inability to timely pay ransom. Nigerians are not happy with this development. If there is any time the government needs to expedite action to arrest this ugly monster called kidnapping, that time is no doubt now or never. In the long run, the government has at her disposal a chance of either writing her name in gold or in charcoal as far as kidnapping is concerned.

Umar Ridwan, Kaduna.