He said “hostage taking and political kidnapping, a tool used by fundamentalist groups, has degenerated into means of currying financialincentives and achieving political ambitions.”
Ihenacho gave the warning just as Police Affairs Minister, Adamu Maina Waziri tried to absolve politicians from the menace calledkidnapping, insisting that the code of conduct of politicians did notencourage kidnapping as a tool to achieving power, adding thatkidnapping is criminality ‘simplicita’.
Inspector-General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo, on his part, said there was need for more stiffer penalty for kidnappers, explaining that the10-year imprisonment punishment stipulated for such offenders ascontained in Section 315 of the Criminal Code was not enough deterrent.
Both ministers and the Inspector General of Police, spoke at a one-day workshop on ‘Kidnapping as a threat to national security’organised by the Alumni Association of the National Institute of Policyand Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos, in Abuja.
Said Ihenacho: “In Nigeria, kidnapping started as a major political weapon of militias in the Niger Delta region. However, in recent years,this phenomenon has also spread to other parts of the nation, asunemployed youths and young university graduates have adopted thismethod for improving their financial status. Kidnapper now carryheavier weapons than the security agencies, which amplifies that it hasbecome a very formidable force that government must contend with.”
Biometric security technology
The minister stated, however that “due to the increase in kidnapping in recent times, the Federal Government and other stakeholders havebegun to embrace biometric security technology. It will check the waveof abduction in the country, a development which has furtherexacerbated the already precarious security situation in the country.”
National interests are being threatened
To Adamu Waziri, “It is in our national interest to deliberate on the problem of kidnapping because our national interests are beingthreatened by kidnapping. For many months, banks in Aba were closedbecause the economy was hijacked. If this is allowed to continue, ourmarch to democracy will be stalled.
“We also have to collectively identify, isolate and eliminate the underlying causes of kidnapping. We need to assure our citizenry thatif we cannot completely eliminate, we can reduce it.”
10-yr imprisonment inadequate
Emphasizing on the offence of kidnapping and why it is prevalent,Onovo said, while 10 years imprisonment was inadequate, there was needfor an enhanced judiciary process like the setting up of special courtsto fast track the process of getting kidnappers tried and punished.
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