10. Lifts
As much as many would want to offer help to persons in need, giving strangers a lift could be a wrong move. There was a report last year of one Mrs. Abike Lawal who visited a popular shopping mall in Lagos. As she was about to leave, she noticed that one of her tyres had been slashed.
In her disturbed state, a friendly, well-dressed and articulate young man showed up like a knight in shining armour to help her. After assisting her, he asked for a ride to where he said he parked his car. Without waiting for her response, he entered the car but the woman suspected foul play and excused herself to buy something.
She went to a security guard and told him what happened. The security guard went with her to the car but the young man had left.
In 2013, a report by Sheriff Deputies Limited, a private Security Company in Nigeria, stated that the South-West had the highest incidence of kidnapping with five per cent, followed by the South-East and South-South with four per cent each.
It noted that North-West and North-East each had an incidence of three per cent, with the lowest being North-Central at two per cent.
The Lagos State Police Command said between January and June this year, there were 19 cases of kidnappings.
The spokesperson for the command, Dolapo Badmos, told SUNDAY PUNCH that 15 suspected kidnappers had been charged to court.
Badmos also said culprits involved in robbery and pipeline vandalism had turned to kidnapping.
She added that some of the communities vulnerable to kidnapping are those close to waterways, because kidnappers could quickly escape with their victims without encountering an immediate chase by residents or security officials.
A security consultant, Mr. Bunmi Odukoya, said kidnapping of Nigerians had increased.
Odukoya said, “Criminals know that police are rarely contacted after a kidnap and that families are quick to pay ransom for the release of their relatives. Kidnappers can be particularly brutal and can physically assault their victims and those delivering ransoms.”
Insufficient security agents
The current number of police officers is said to be about 370,000 to about 170 million Nigerians.This fell short of the United Nations recommendation of 222 police officers per 100,000 persons.
President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the recruitment of 10,000 policemen into the nation’s Police Force to reinforce the police for better service.
Another security expert and Chairman Mentorship Committee, American Society for Industrial Security, Abuja Chapter, Prof. Femi Adegbulu, said it appeared that the law enforcement agents had lost the battle to kidnappers.
“Most cases of kidnap are between you and your God. It depends on your negotiating power for your loved one to be freed, if kidnapped. We hear reports saying no ransom was paid, but those criminals are not foolish. These criminals risk their lives to kidnap an individual, and they know that if caught, they would be jailed or face death penalty. Why then would they kidnap someone and not get money?’’ he stated.
Badmos said parents have a moral and physical duty to protect their children.
She added, ‘‘People living close to waterways should be sensitive and extremely security conscious. We have foiled about two kidnap attempts in partnership with the communities involved.”
