Increasing Incidence of Kidnapping as Threat to National Security

Afakriya Gadzama writes that recent times have witnessed a troubling rise in the incidence of kidnapping across parts of Nigeria, posing significant threats to public safety, national security, and socio-economic stability.

Many of us in the National Security Establishment have been taken aback by the sudden emergence of kidnapping and the abduction of schoolchildren in some parts of the country in the last few months. Of particular note are the abduction of over 40 school children in Musa, in Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, and a nearly similar incident at Oriire, Oyo State.

Also very unsettling was the abduction of retired Brigadier-General Abubakar Rabe and his wife in Matazu Local Government Area Council in Katsina State. There have also been several unconfirmed reports of abductions in several states. Also very disheartening were the killings of some military and police personnel in Yobe State by people suspected to be terrorists. These, candidly, are some of the few security incidents that have dented the commendable performance of some security agencies in the country over the past two months.

An honest review of the performance of agencies in the National Security Sector reveals that many of them have performed exceptionally well despite the occasional eruption of some incidents. As repeatedly observed, even pathological critics of some of the security agencies and the Government have sought to know what led to some of the incidents. We, however, caution that these incidents should not be used as parameters for measuring the performance of the security agencies and the state of security in the country. Political sentiments, as consistently observed, should also not be used to measure the performance of the Government of the day.

This is because some of the critics of the President Bola Tinubu government could be beclouded and blindfolded by their parochial biases against the present government.

As previously observed, a charged political atmosphere such as the one the country is passing through at the moment is not helpful for an objective and balanced view of the performance of security agencies in the country. It should be noted that the government and the security agencies are equally concerned with the security situation in the country.

All concerned stakeholders are calling for a balanced appreciation of the handling of the current incidents of abduction in parts of the country. It is our view that President Tinubu should not be blamed for the abduction incident in Musa, Borno State, and the one at Oriire in Oyo State. If anything, those to be blamed are the security and paramilitary agencies that have statutory responsibilities for handling such criminal incidents. It is also important to note that those in political leadership cannot totally exonerate themselves from the incidents in question.

This is because of poor security management in the country and the recent handling of crime and security issues in the country. The reason, basically, is that poor governance and depriving the citizenry of the minimal benefits of democracy are what have pushed the citizenry into criminality, among other things. Some of us believe that criminality and anti-social behaviour will significantly decline if there is equity and provision of the minimal needs of the citizenry, particularly the downtrodden.

Relatedly, it has also been observed that the mode of kidnapping, abduction and attacks on people and communities in the country is a result of inherent weaknesses in the security infrastructure and the lack of working tools. These are major handicaps for those in law enforcement and security agencies in the country. It is important to note that almost all paramilitary and security agencies in the country are, at the moment, poorly equipped and terribly understaffed.

It is important to note that the present government has tried to address the critical needs of nearly all security and paramilitary organisations in the country.

However, as previously observed, re-equipping the various security and police agencies does not stop at buying and equipping them with outdated guns and ammunition. Many in the security sector have also raised questions about what has happened, for example, with the Safe School Programme.

The major security threat at the moment is the abduction of school children. Our fears are that kidnapping in places of worship could be the next target. Stakeholders in the political circle could be the next victims. This underscores the need to heighten security presence in all States and the National Assembly.

The incidents in question have also brought to the fore the absence of the expected state of preparedness of security agencies in the country. The government and the citizenry therefore need to be reminded that the country is fast approaching an election period. This could be characterised by unexpected incidents in the political space.

The citizenry and other stakeholders, if they have to competently handle all the threats that are likely to emerge before then, should have started preparing by now. It is however sad to note that only agencies like the DSS and a few others have commenced honest rehearsing of their personnel on election management. The many others should take a cue.

An informed analysis meanwhile points to the political class as the likely targets of kidnapping by criminal groups. Stakeholders with responsibilities for protecting political office holders should also do well by effectively securing the political office holders, especially the legislators at the State and National levels.

An appropriate advice at a time like this is that the State Government should sit down with the security agencies to deliberate on some critical security threats. A major area that needs to be thoroughly discussed is security in the various schools and places of worship. Proper management of electoral campaigns should equally be looked into to forestall untoward incidences.

-Gadzama, a former Director-General of the Department of State Services, writes from Abuja.