The release Monday of the victims of Kagara kidnapping by their abductors excited Nigerians.
What seems a sour grape in their mouth, however, is the manner of their release and acceptable practice of open negotiation and ransom payment by the Federal Government.
Many Nigerians have described this as a dangerous trend and glamorisation of terrorism.
Last Wednesday, a band of terrorists swooped on Government Science College, Kagara, Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State at about 2 pm, kidnapping a number of students, staff and members of their families.
President Muhammadu Buhari had immediately while condemning the abduction, directed the armed forces and police to ensure the safe return of the victims.
A day after the abduction, a video had gone viral on social media, uploaded by the kidnappers, where they threatened to waste the victims if a hefty ransom was not paid, and on time.
In the video, the distraught victims were also seen profusely pleading for the ransom to be paid to secure their freedom.
Read Also: Nigeria’s agric sector shows strength despite insecurity, pandemic
By Saturday last week, the social media was again abuzz with a viral video of some negotiators led by Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi in a forest with the terrorists.
Gumi, the chief negotiator, is an Islamic cleric, scholar and former military officer with the rank of captain in the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA). He is the current Mufti and Mufassir at the Kaduna central mosque, Sultan Bello.
Open negotiation with terrorists appears to have become the Federal Government’s preferred strategy of seeking temporary relief from the activities of bandits and terrorists that have become too frequent in recent times.
On February 19, 2018, about 110 schoolgirls were abducted at the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College (GGSTC), Dapchi, Yobe State, by terrorists.
All the girls, except Leah Sharibu, regained their freedom in a jiffy. Those in the know said a huge ransom was paid to secure their release.
It is becoming clearer with the episodes in Kankara, Katsina State and the recent Kagara abduction that a dangerous precedent may have been established.
In December 2020 when hundreds of boys were kidnapped from their school in Kankara, the government-appointed some negotiators to secure their release.
Analysts express fears that the pattern which appears to have been embraced by the government, though may seem to be paying off in the immediate term, has the tendency of ruining Nigeria in the long run.
While the government believes it is scoring a bull’s eye by engaging in negotiation and ransom payment, security experts and other well-meaning Nigerians say the Federal Government may be unwittingly transferring its sovereignty to a band of terrorists and bandits who now dictate and call the shots at the negotiation table.
The release of the Kagara victims came a day after the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Major General Ibrahim Attahiru gave a 48-hour ultimatum to the troops of Operation Lafiya Dole to clear some communities in Marte Local Government Area of Borno State which was recently attacked and taken over by the Islamist sect, Boko Haram.
He also ordered the troops to clear Ngala Local Government Areas of the state, and crush Boko Haram.
Analysts say that what is playing out in Nigeria and the dangerous rhetoric surrounding the prosecution of the low-grade war in the North East may negatively affect the psyche of military personnel involved in the fight.
The fear is that while the terrorists use the hefty ransom they collect from the government to acquire more arms and ammunition to fortify themselves, the Nigerian soldiers that should dislodge them are ill-equipped.
Moreover, the huge ransom the terrorists are paid now seems like empowerment for them to continue on that dangerous venture.
In May 2019, the BBC in its story, ‘How Nigeria and its president are being held to ransom’, reported that the business of abduction and ransom payment may have taken root in Nigeria.
It recalled that in March of that year, a well-known Muslim cleric in Kano, who campaigned for President Buhari ahead of his re-election, Ahmed Sulaiman was held for 12 days by kidnappers who demanded $833,000 (£657,000) for his release.
It quoted Sulaiman as saying that “eight young men were assigned to guard us. They would smoke cigarettes and marijuana and blow the smoke into the hut, abusing and threatening to kill us since our people didn’t care to bring the ransom in time. They issued all sorts of threats.”
BBC in the report noted that “gangs nationwide kidnap both rich and poor people, often collecting ransoms of up to $150,000 – and sometimes killing abductees whose families fail to pay.”
Here is a country where youth unemployment is rising on a daily basis and the youth idle away with no future in sight. With the seeming lucrative nature of mass kidnapping of students, the 2023 general election could be imperilled. Unscrupulous elements may find kidnapping and ransom-taking as an avenue to raise money to prosecute their political ambition.
Aliyu Umar Babangida, a retired Army Captain, says no serious country engages in negotiation and ransom payment the way the Nigerian government goes about it.
“If I were the Chief of Army Staff, I would have flushed out the rebels. I would need not more than fifteen thousand soldiers to rout them. It is insulting to allow them to be negotiating with our government on a position of strength, calling $100million; $500million ransom. The government should have an upper hand, and talk to them from a position of strength,” Babangida said.
He urged Nigeria to borrow a leaf from some African countries that have stamped out terrorism from their domain.
“If you publicly execute about 10 of them (terrorists), others would be afraid. The terrorists are a band of fearful people and the only language they understand is brute force. Nigeria should not engage with them to the point of negotiating ransom and all that; that is making bandits look important,” he further said.
A Cleric, Rev. Father, George Omaku Ehusani, had shared the view of the security expert when he advised the Federal Government not to use the nation’s wealth to settle criminals.
“If we were running a proper democracy and federalism, then if the Governor of Zamfara State decides to take money to settle criminals rather than fight them, that’s ok for them. But we cannot use our national money to settle criminals,” Ehusani said.
His response followed the proposal by Gumi and the Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle for amnesty and compensation for bandits who have been terrorising some states in the northwest as a way to resolve the insecurity challenges in that region.
Dakuku Peterside, a former director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), urged the Federal Government to deal decisively with bandits, as according to him, “Criminality is unlawful and should be treated according to the provisions of our laws. The crucial issue is the reassertion of the supremacy of the Nigerian state in the control of the power of coercion. Sovereign power should never be shared with non-state actors.”
Peterside also noted that “most criminals lack moral compulsion and negotiating with them is useless, as they are not known to keep to agreements.”
He pointed out that, “It is always dangerous to allow kidnappers of innocent school children to glamorise their evil deeds, as it has been happening recently. This inspires other wannabe abductors to plan and execute the next despicable ‘soap opera’, whereby a part of the actors (bandits) gets money and fame. The other part (victims and their families) lives a life of pain and anguish.”
Indeed, it’s high time the government showed capacity and sincerely prosecute the war without allowing itself to be deceived by some elements whose prayer is to see insecurity in the country grow worse, for narrow personal interest.
