Kidnapping is one of the major security challenges facing Nigerians in recent time. Though it is not entirely a new phenomenon, yet, like a wild fire, it has continued to grow and assume horrendous dimensions.
Data from the Council on Foreign Relations/Nigeria Security Tracker shows that kidnapping in Nigeria was at an all-time high in 2020 with 2,860 reported cases. Starting from 2014 with reported 882 kidnappings, 658 in 2015, 347 in 2016, 484 in 2017, 987 in 2018 and 1,386 in 2019, the figures show the appreciable growth of the kidnapping industry in Nigeria.
A new report from SB Morgen, a Nigerian consulting firm, using data gathered from a variety of open sources, including the Council’s Nigeria Security Tracker, presented a valuable attempt to quantify the costs of kidnapping and to map its spread. Between 2011 and 2020, it revealed that over $18 million had been paid in ransom. The amount of ransom accelerated in the latter portion of that period: between 2016 and 2020, around $11 million was paid out.
On March 4, gunmen also abducted a Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. David Echioda, in Otukpo, Benue State. According to a source, the priest of Otukpo Catholic Diocese was abducted on a Sunday afternoon along Alla-Akpa Road while returning home after conducting mass at Utonkon in the Ado local government area of the state.
Perpetrators managed to board the ship and kidnap three men – the captain, the chief engineer, and the cook, likely all being Nigerian nationals. The crew notified local authorities that deployed NNS Jubilee, a Nigerian Navy ship, to provide support. According to local sources, a ransom of ₦10 million was demanded from the abducted seafarers.
After that, unknown gunmen kidnapped at least 20 people in a raid on Adagbi village in Shiroro district of Niger state on Thursday, September 3. Local media sources report that the majority of those kidnapped were women. No casualties were reported during the raid, with the gunmen firing into the air as they entered the village on motorcycles and villagers running away.