Kidnapping epidemic: Most abductions in Abuja, others not reported – Victims’ families

Despite the increasing wave of abductions across the country, security experts and families of victims have said that most kidnapping incidents in the Federal Capital Territory and other parts of the country are not reported to the authorities.

Victims of abductions and their families in Abuja and other parts of the country, who spoke to our correspondents, said they paid ransoms without reporting the incidents to the police.

Also, Amnesty International and the Nigerian Society for Criminologists which spoke in separate interviews with The PUNCH on Monday, attributed the under-reporting of abductions to the fear of reprisals and lack of trust in the security agencies.

Kidnapping, which was previously restricted to the North-West, has in recent months, spread to many states and the FCT.

Families of victims and security experts told The PUNCH on Monday that many abductions were not reported in the media nor were the complaints lodged with the police.

Segun Adereti, the father of a 13-year-old girl, Miracle, who was kidnapped by an unknown gang in the Ikotun area of Lagos State on December 1 on her way home from school, explained how he was warned against involving the police.

Adereti, in an interview, said, “We’ve received threats warning us not to involve the police.’’

In Abuja, most victims and their families, who spoke to The PUNCH on Monday on the condition of anonymity because of the fear of attacks, explained why they did not report the abductions.

A businessman who was abducted in Kubwa, a suburb of Abuja recently, said his family simply paid the ransom and did not involve the police.

He stated,” We didn’t bother to report the incident because that may even put my life at risk. I did not believe the police would be able to rescue me. Instead of jeopardising my life, I thought it wise to pay the ransom and save my life. When there is life, there is hope and I can recover whatever that was given to the criminals.”

A civil servant, whose brother was abducted in the Deidei area of Zuba late last year, said they were warned not to report the case to the authorities.

He added, “The kidnappers said they would know if we reported the matter to the police and that we would not see our brother again. So, we heeded their advice and complied with their ransom demand.”

Residents of Okota in Lagos State have revealed the many cases of abductions going on in that area.

Cases of abductions were said to be on the rise in the community with some victims paying ransoms without reporting to the police.

Similar cases were also recorded on the Mainland, particularly in the Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of the state.

Many wealthy people were the soft targets for the abductors who demanded huge ransoms.

A car dealer popularly known as Ejike Conversion in the Ladipo Spare Parts Market was abducted on December 9, 2023, by gunmen.

Ejike, a resident of Okota, was said to have been taking an inventory of his newly imported goods in front of his plaza around midnight when some armed men swooped in on him and his workers.

He was abducted and later released after allegedly paying a huge ransom.

When asked about the kidnap of Ejike, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said he was not aware of the incident.

In a similar development, a yet-to-be-identified businessman was allegedly kidnapped earlier this month in the Ago Palace area of the state while the kidnappers demanded a sum of N500m.

Ago residents lament

During a visit to the area on Monday, our correspondents encountered some residents who declined to speak due to the sensitive nature of the development.

A resident who offered to speak on the condition of anonymity said the development was not new but did not make it to the public because of the dimension it had taken.

He said, “Cases of kidnappings, especially in this Ago Palace area, are not new. It became a common trend last year, whereby people rush to the police to report. The police step in and rescue some, while some end up paying a ransom and get freed before the police step in.

“But towards the end of last year, it was noticed that cases of kidnappings increased but some of them were not reported to the police. I know of three incidents in which the captors warned them not to involve the police.”

The resident added that the abductees returned to their homes secretly without informing anyone.

He said, “Normally, when people regain freedom, they often go to church for Thanksgiving or you find some family and friends around them, celebrating their freedom. But that is not the case any longer.

“When some of them are released, you won’t even know when they return. They hibernate in their homes and make it look like nothing happened.”

Another resident who identified himself simply as Victor said this also happened in the cases of those who have near-encounters with kidnappers in the area.

He said, “ Some people have experienced situations where they were almost abducted but escaped narrowly. Meanwhile, instead of reporting to the police, they keep it to themselves because of fear. What we learnt was that the victims were warned not to involve the police authorities.”

A police source who confided in our correspondent said only a few cases of kidnapping in the state were reported to the police due to threats by the abductors.

Also, The PUNCH investigations showed that some kidnapping incidents did not make it to mainstream media outlets or security authorities.

Frank Ubido, the uncle of a serving member of the National Youths Service Corps in Benue State, Esther Otegiri, who was kidnapped last week, told The PUNCH the family paid over a million naira before they could secure the release of the victim.

The kidnappers, according to Ubido, had requested N50m.

Ubido made it clear to our correspondent on Monday that the police accompanied a family member to pay the ransom.

He said, “Over N1mn was paid. One of my brothers went there to drop the money with the help of the police after we spoke to them about how much we had. She is somewhere now taking medications. She got out last week.

“The victim had put distress notes on her WhatsApp status on January 12 saying, ‘I am being held hostage by unknown gunmen at Benue. Please help me. They are refusing to let NYSC corps members go. N50 million. I haven’t escaped, I’m still with them, send help, my location is on.”

She was said to be returning to Benue State from Edo where she was serving when the gunmen took her along the Enugu-Benue highway.

Posts from her friends and colleagues began to trend on social media with fund-raising flyers also circulating.

When contacted, the Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, Catherine Anene, on Monday, said she was not aware of the kidnap of the corps member.

“I’m not aware of that. Nobody has given me any information about the kidnap of a corper,” she told The PUNCH.

An X user, @Ahlexmoralex, while commenting on a post about kidnapping incidents along the Gbagada Expressway of Lagos on January 16, said “This route is always scary. They are mostly around the New Garage. I have like three people who fell victim to this. They said they boarded the bus from the new garage. (The suspects) wiped all the money in their accounts and all that they had. Be careful out there, please.”

“They’re mostly concentrated on Mile 2 to Badagry Expressway. It’s most dangerous to be out around 6am to board a bus along that route. This ‘one-chance’ or ritual kidnappers operate on that road stretch all through the day unhindered or trailed by men of the @PoliceNG. It’s sad!” another user @FemiVersatile said on January 16.

On January 18, the Nigerian Army on X via @HQNigerianArmy while reacting to a post by another X user, posted, “#ThankASoldier” when the user claimed she witnessed an attempted kidnap in the Ikeja area of Lagos.

The poster said a kidnapping attempt was foiled by a soldier in the early hours of the day.

@nerdy_deb wrote, “This soldier on a bike told my bus driver to corner the Sienna three vehicles away from him because he suspected he was a kidnapper. After the Ikeja intersection, the soldier instructed big buses in front to block the road. They caught the Sienna driver.’’

But Hundeyin said consequent upon the report of abductions on Gbagada Expressway, the Commissioner of Police Adegoke Fayoade, has ordered an immediate review of the security architecture of the entire area by affected Divisional Police Officers and Area Commanders, in a bid to forestall such an occurrence.

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