Evans-Vampire
At first, it was for the purpose of passing a message to the international community. Hostages were usually kept for a week or thereabouts in militants den and then released after a mention of the incident during a press conference or by the BBC or the CNN.
The trend witnessed the payment of ransom after an international oil company whose expatriates had been kidnapped could not hold on for negotiations to be completed before going ahead to pay for the release. The introduction of ransom then shifted the focus of the militants from mere gaining international relevance to a means of enriching themselves, as well as financing arms and ammunition for their struggle.
Seeing the trend as lucrative, militants began to compel the oil companies to pay huge sums for the release of their men. Many youths in the region, majority of who were jobless, ultimately resorted to kidnapping for ransom to survive.
Along the line, the multinational companies in the Niger – Delta re-strategised by intensifying protection around their employees, a move that also witnessed a counter strategy by militants who turned their attention to high net-worth Nigerians.
This continued until the introduction of amnesty by the federal government which saw militants in the oil region surrendering.
Unfortunately, amnesty did not provide the ready answer to kidnapping for ransom as the trend was hijacked by copy cats who introduced diverse methods to it in other parts of the country.
It initially escalated to the East where aged parents and relatives of persons considered to be rich were kidnapped and kept by captors until ransom was paid. The situation got so bad that most Igbo who were known to travel to their villages during festive periods such as the new yam festival and Christmas stayed away for fear of falling prey to these criminal elements. Many communities in the region were vacated as natives fled for fear of being kidnapped.
The problem soon spread to other parts of the country with the attendant violent twist as life was snuffed out of victims either out of frustration of not getting the anticipated ransom or due to delay in payment of ransom.
One of the pathetic incidents was the killing of a 75-year-old woman, Mrs Theresa Adaku Edid, by her captors about six years ago in Imo State after her family had paid N1 million ransom. She had returned from the farm on April 14, 2011 and was resting in front of her compound when some armed men drove in and whisked her away to their hideout from where they put a call through to her relatives, who quickly paid the ransom only to be told later that she had died in their custody.
Another incident was the case of a professor of agricultural economics and extension at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Paul Erie, whose abduction was said to have been masterminded by one of his in-laws. He was abducted in June 2015. His abductors had tied his mouth and nose to prevent him from shouting, an action that suffocated and killed him. His decomposing body was exhumed four months later from a shallow grave in Igbanke area of Edo State where his captors had buried him following their arrest.
Also in Lagos, a woman, who was abducted while driving into her compound in Ikorodu area, had life snuffed out of her in the kidnappers’ bid to prevent her from shouting.
In January 2017, the mother of an Abuja based industrialist and indigene of Ishiagu community in Ebonyi State, Mrs Catherine Okorie Chukwu, was abducted, killed and buried at the kidnappers den in Lokpanta, Isuochi area of Abia State. Her decomposing body was exhumed from a forest by a police team who led one of the self-confessed kidnappers to the spot.
Not done, kidnappers extended their spree to schools where students in two different schools were abducted and released after several millions of naira had been paid as ransom. The latest was the release of the six students of Lagos Model College, Igbonla, Epe, Lagos after spending close to three months in kidnappers’ den.
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