KIDNAPPING IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS AND CHALLENGES FOR NATIONAL SECURITY

1.1 Introduction

Kidnapping is adjudged to be unlawful detention of persons through the instrument of force, threat, fraud or enticement for different political and socio-economic reasons. It has become one of the major security threats to Nigeria as a sovereign entity. School Children Abduction appears to be one of the most technical and most lucrative in nature, considering the fact that a lot of people are involved unannounced. Kidnappers have a powerful mode of operation which creates fear in individuals because they are uncertain of the next person to be abducted. The operators of armed robbery can kidnap immediate family members and divulge all round information about whoever is their target. Kidnapping is not new in Nigeria and is one of the challenges facing the country at present.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitation of the study and Definition of terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

Kidnapping is a global phenomenon which has been of great challenge to every government of affected countries. Some areas of concern to most government and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are the relationship of kidnapping to the issue of human trafficking and prostitution. In recent times, the crime of kidnapping has been linked to political intents where victims are kidnapped to push forward a political statement. It has also been related to the issue of terrorism which has threatened global security (Osaghae, 2007: 19-22).

Another reason for kidnapping which has recently gained prominence in Nigeria is kidnapping for ransom. Each and every one of these reasons has in one way or the other threatened the national security of countries where such crime is perpetrated. Its resultant effects have been the proliferation of arms and the parting of large sums of money to kidnappers from victims. This has therefore been a major threat to national security of any nation.

In the Nigerian context, prior to 1990s, the issue of abduction was rare, and it was not reported in the Eighth United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and Operation of Criminal Justice System conducted in 2002 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (Obarisiagbon & Aderinto, 2018).

The recent kidnapping wave in Nigeria started on 25th February 2006 by the abduction of expatriate oil company employees in the Niger Delta region, which was displayed as an open message to the world for many years of marginalization, injustice, exploitation, and underdevelopment of the region (Akpan, 2010). Since then, the menace became boldly commercialized in several parts of the country. In contemporary Nigeria, the implications of kidnapping are not only on the foreigners; sadly, it now includes locals, such as; the poor and the rich, the aged, and children.

During the second half of the 20th century states sponsored terrorism was deployed against strivings for self determination by many oppressed people. This terrorism of colonialism often produced a backlash of counter terrorism. The colonizers used terror to assert their hold overseas territories, whereas national liberation movements resorted to terrorism to pursue emancipation and independence. A new brand of terrorism arose after the completion of decolonization and the end the end of the cold war.

Kidnapping laws in the United States derive from the common law of kidnapping that was developed by courts in England. Originally, the crime of kidnapping was defined as the unlawful and non-consensual transportation of a person from one country to another. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, states began to redefine kidnapping, most notably eliminating the requirement of interstate transport.

The crime of unlawfully seizing and carrying away a person by force or fraud, or seizing and detaining a person against his or her will with an intent to carry that person away at a later time. The law of kidnapping is difficult to define with precision because it varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Most state and federal kidnapping statutes define the term kidnapping vaguely, and courts fill in the details. Generally, kidnapping occurs when a person, without lawful authority, physically as ports (i.e., moves) another person without that other person’s consent, with the intent to use the abduction in connection with some other nefarious objective.

In Nigeria, the crime of kidnapping gained prominence lately with the political strives of militants of the Niger Delta region of the South-South Nigeria (Barack, 2010). The kidnapping of expatriates in Nigeria threatens the very economic base of the nation which is oil exploration. To further push forward their political statement, the militants stepped up their criminal acts by kidnapping Nigerians of high political status or political figures. This eventually led to the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) taking decisive steps in checking the activities of militants which eventually resulted in the amnesty programme of the Late President Umar Yar Adua (Akpan, 2010). Unfortunately, the business of kidnapping spread to other areas of the country especially in the Eastern part of Nigeria and metamorphosed into a business mostly perpetrated by youths to make money.

Presently, the rate of kidnapping in Nigeria, in spite of the effort of police and other security agencies has been quite worrisome and poses a great challenge to the national security of the country. It has stalled business activities in some areas as well created fear in the minds of Nigerians. On the other hand, the perpetrators, who are mostly youths, are lost to such criminal activities instead of being gainfully employed as productive citizens for Nigeria’s development. The kidnapping of some journalists around Abia state was regarded as the height of the insensitivity of kidnappers (Egwemi, 2010). This has prompted the government of Nigeria to initiate strategies to check kidnapping in the country. The various states in Nigeria are initiating steps at establishing stringent laws to dissuade would-be kidnappers.

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to assess the Implications and Challenges of Kidnapping in Nigeria for National Security.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

Investigation revealed that technological advances such as automatic weapons and compact, electrically donated explosives gave terrorist a new mobility and lethality. Terrorism was adopted as virtually a state policy though an unacknowledged one by such totalitarian regime as those of Nazi Germany under Adolph Hitler the Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin and Nigeria under Sani Abacha and Uganda under Idi Amin. Kidnapping is a serious crime and has potential for transforming into other felonious offenses, such as physical violence, financial victimization, and murder.

Kidnapping took a rather dramatic dimension in Nigeria recently with its spread to other areas of the country from the Niger Delta region. This has therefore posed a serious challenge to Nigeria’s national security. Its impact on the nation has been quite enormous as it affects the socio-economic cum political lives of average Nigerians. This study in the quest of finding solution to the menace of kidnapping in Nigeria, seeks to answer the following question in section 1.5.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to determine the Implications and Challenges of Kidnapping in Nigeria for National Security. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To determine the implications of kidnapping to Nigeria’s national security;
2. To examine the various factors responsible for kidnapping in Nigeria;
3. To determine the relationship between kidnapping and national security;
4. To highlight the challenges in eradicating the problem of kidnapping; and
5. To proffer solution in Nigeria measures that could be adopted to effectively check the growth of kidnapping in Nigeria.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Are there factors that are responsible for the increase of kidnapping in Nigeria?
• Is there any relationship between kidnapping and national security?
• What are the effects of Kidnapping on Nigeria’s national security?
• What are the roles of government in curbing the menace of kidnapping?
• What are the challenges faced in dealing with the problem of kidnapping in Nigeria?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: There are no significant factors that are responsible for the increase of kidnapping in Nigeria
• H1: There are significant factors that are responsible for the increase of kidnapping in Nigeria

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1.7 Significance of Study

The issue of kidnapping could be relatively new to Nigeria compared to other countries. This poses a great challenge to the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in its combating of crime and maintaining national security.

Therefore, the findings of this research will be beneficial to the government of Nigeria in putting in place machineries to fight against this menace. It will also be beneficial to security agencies who are directly or indirectly involved in curbing the problem of kidnapping in the country.

This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The scope of the research is focused on the Implications and Challenges of Kidnapping in Nigeria for National Security. This research work as its title suggests covers the period when there was a terrorist attack of kidnapping attack in Nigeria.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
3. Lack of Initial Cooperation from Respondents: A particular limitation of this work came as a result of the respondent refusal to offer their cooperation at the initial time they were contacted. This contributed in making the success of this research study difficult.

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1.10 Definition of Terms

Kidnapping:

It is adjudged to be unlawful detention of persons through the instrument of force, threat, fraud or enticement for different political and socio-economic reasons.

Terrorism:

This is a weapon of the weak against the strong. It is a special form of political violence. As a political activity, it is undertaken not to inflict violence or destruction but to communicate political message.

Conflict:

This describes a situation in which two or more parties perceive difference between or among themselves and seek to resolve those differences to their own satisfaction.

Violence:

This is a behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage or kill.

War:

Simply put, war is the absence of peace. Most authorities however, still define war in a relatively narrow sense.