Abia 5: Long Walk to Freedom

Wahab Oba

Following the release of four kidnapped journalists by their abductors, fears mount over the inability of the security agencies to stem the tide of kidnapping in the country
By Olafioye Olakunle
Like the proverbial baby hawk which ignorantly captured a duckling, kidnappers in the country, particularly in the South-east zone may have bitten more than they can chew with the recent abduction of four journalists. Since their release penultimate Sunday, July 18, there has been a renewed effort aimed at steming the tide of the scourge in the country. Wahab Oba, Chairman, Lagos State council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists Sylva-Okereke, Assistant Secretary, Zonal Secretary of NUJ, Adolphus Okonkwo and Sola Oyeyipo, a Lagos based journalist were released at Ukwakiri at about 1:30 a.m.
The abducted journalists, The Source gathered, were left in a bush in the dead of the night and remained there until the following morning before scurrying to alert the leadership of NUJ, which in turn informed the police of their release. Narrating their experience at the Government House, Umuahia, Abia state where they were taken after their release, Oba disclosed that although their abductors did not maltreat them, however, they were blindfolded from the moment they were kidnapped “until we got to the first place where we were kept. We were blindfolded from the last place where we were taken to the bush where we were set free,” Oba said.
The journalists were also chained and were fed once a day according to Oba. “From the moment we were captured, we lived in the bush and were always moved every two hours in the night when the police would have retired for the day.” Although no ransom was said to have been paid to their captors, the abducted journalists reportedly lost N1.6 million and other valuables worth about N2 million to their captors.
While in their captors’ den, the journalist disclosed the level of sophistication of the weapons in the possession of the hoodlums and their possible link to some high profile Nigerians going by their conversation. The kidnappers had initially demanded a N250 ransom but later, according to Oba, claimed they were not really interested in the ransom. “They said they were driven into criminality to protest government neglect,” he revealed.
But no excuse is tenable to the police as far as kidnapping and other crimes are concerned. The Inspector General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo revealed that the Police was poised to commence onslaught against kidnappers in the country. The police boss who spoke while receiving the freed journalist disclosed that rescuing the journalist was a big challenge to police, adding that, “the releasing and handing over of the journalists is the first stage; the second stage is to go after the kidnappers.” The Police Chief while conceding that the fight against kidnappers will not be an easy task also said, “while going after them, we will inconvenient some people living within the area.
With the rising wave of kidnapping across the country, there is nothing to suggest that kidnappers do not receive support from high profile individuals in the country. Even the abduction of the four journalists also gave credence to this as revealed by Oba. As one of the measures aimed at stemming the tide of abduction in Abia state, the state governor, Theodore Orji recently deposed the traditional ruler of Amauba - Ime Local Government Area, Eze Vincent Uche, for allegedly sponsoring kidnapping and armed robbery. The government, in a statement by the chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Kingsley Emeruwa, said that three traditional rulers in Obingwa LGA, where the four journalists and their driver were kidnapped, had been suspended following security report that they were also aiding kidnapping in the state. The deposed monarch, The Source learnt has been charged to court after his arrest by the police.
Just like their abduction, the release of Oba and his three colleague has continued to attract reactions from well-meaning Nigerians. The chairman, House of Representatives committee on Rules and Business, Ita Enang, called on the federal government to renew its efforts on the fight against kidnapping in the country. Enang, who stressed the need to adequately equip the police to enable them carry out their functions effectively, opined that the government should also look beyond arm acquisition for the nation’s security agents if the war is to be totally won. “We should take the issue of kidnapping seriously as a nation; just buying arms will not solve the problem.”
The lawmaker, who noted that people indulged in the act due to joblessness, advised the government to rehabilitate all collapsed industries in the country to provide job opportunity for the teeming unemployed Nigerians.
The Minister of Information and Communication, Professor Dora Akunyili urged Nigerians to stand up against kidnapping and avoid paying ransom in their bid to secure the release of victims of kidnapping. She said the payment of ransom had encouraged kidnapping which according to her, has become a booming industry.
On his part, President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Gbenga Adefaye, recommended that a harsh example be made of deviants to put an end the menace. His words: “We hope government will put an end to these incidents of kidnapping that embarrasses us all and make Nigeria look like an uncharted jungle. We hope the President will take a strong step on security and reassure everyone that journalists will not be afraid to perform their duties as enshrined in the constitution.”
However as commendable as the renewed spirit by the nation’s security agencies to fight the menace of kidnapping is, the lack of equipment to tackle the scourge is a major setback. The Inspector General of Police last Tuesday in Abuja declared that the Nigeria Police force lacked the equipment to tackle kidnapping in the country.
Onovo, while speaking during a visit by the freed journalists to him, described the abduction of the newsmen as means through which God wants the country to know about the seriousness of kidnapping which the police had been battling without the necessary equipment. He however assured Nigerians that the police would not relent in their effort to rid the country of criminals. “And let nobody use poverty as an excuse. Let all Nigerians know from now that kidnapping is a terrible gale that is blowing through the land, an ill-wind that brings no good. We will ensure that the police perform their duties,” he warned.