The citizens are struggling with the consequences of a National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) strike aimed at drawing positive conclusion to the seven-month detention of Dr Ganiyat Popoola. Dr. Popoola was not released and nor was her nephew even after her husband and child were released when N120m ransom was paid. The ransom demand is as usual outrageous as it amounts to 40 years’ salary @approx N3m annually. However, the family actually found this unrealistic sum money but still did not get their members back.
Nigerians should note that kidnappers began demanding N100m for ransom just after politicians fixed the price for Presidential Nomination Form at N100m. No one told kidnappers that we are not all presidential candidates. Political insensitivity and greed became the yardstick of the greed of murderous criminality. Note that many victims of kidnappers are killed even after paying ransom suggesting callousness, perhaps drug-elated.
The other day when the police and security forces successfully rescued the 20 medical students kidnapped around the Oturkpo access, the police boss did refer to the tremendous pressure from the Presidency and NSA as well as maximum cooperation from all services and communities which led to a shootout killing of the kidnap kingpin and rescuing of all 20 medical students and hopefully and neutralizing other kidnappers. This rescue is highly commendable as are all past reports of tracking, identifying and engaging and neutralizing kidnappers and releasing hostages, sometimes injured, sometimes unharmed.
Most Nigerians are sad because they are under the firm belief that if such ‘immediate intense activity’ had been applied to each and every kidnapping across the country during the last 20 years, kidnapping as a profession or epidemic would not have become so disgustingly fashionable to many criminals. To name one example, the dastardly activities of Evans, the jailed kidnapper is still fresh.
No kidnap victim will fully recover from the unimaginable trauma of imminent death every second during captivity with constant movement and emotional upheaval. No group of friends and family, no matter how rich will ever forget the trauma of raising such huge sums of money as are now ‘routinely’ demanded nowadays. Many kidnap victims return to a life of unimagined poverty having had their family, nuclear and extended, as well as friends and even business connections stripped of massive amounts of money and often even having lost the roof over the family head to emergency sale to raise the ransom money. Also, they live in severe mental torture including fear of anyone coming near them or being frightened at every sound and severe mental trauma for the rest of their lives.
So, Nigeria’s security challenges in dealing directly and decisively and publicly with each case of kidnapping from the inception of the current epidemic kidnapping is why we have this epidemic of kidnapping and consequent unrest among the potential victims; be they Fellow Nigerians or foreigners. Each one is important.
Most countries have a Kidnap Protocol which is implemented triggered by such events. We know that the first 24 hours is more important than the first 48 than the first 72 hours as ‘Hot Pursuit’ with quick intelligence gathering, forming concentric and widening search rings around the ground zero of the crime scene and using dogs and now drones for following scent and the heat trail of escaping kidnappers. Are we equipped and empowered for this? Nigeria has lost many gallant security personnel on rescue missions.
It is this frustration that has led many organisations like the NMA and NARD and other citizens groups to cry out to government for faster, firmer, more formulated action against kidnappers and to locate the funds they demand.
The president of the ARD at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Dr Innocent Abah, has released an approximately 32-name list of recently kidnapped medical practitioners most of them still in captivity. The strike has made it widespread knowledge but it is hurting millions. The government is hopefully acting.
The named doctors abducted in 2021 are Dr Akindele Kayode (January 4), Dr Oladunni Odetola (April 4), Dr Solomon Ndiamaka (July 19), Dr Edmund Akpaikpe (November 19), Dr Zubair Erubu (December 9), and Dr Saidu Bala (December 10).
Those taken in 2022 include Dr Samuel Audu (January 9), Dr Felix Ekpo (February 22), Dr Bulama (March 15), Dr Chinelo Megafu (March 28), and Dr Steven Baashaw (December 10).
The 2023 list includes Prof. Ekanem Phillip (July 13), Dr Orockarrah Orock (November 4), and Dr Ganiyat Popoola (December 27).
For 2024, some of the abducted doctors are Dr John Robin Esu (April 30) and much more recently, Dr Gimba’s family (June 27), Dr Steven Ezeh (August 15), and Dr Olufunke Fadahunsi (August 23).
However, five have been released– November 22, 2022), Dr Obadiah Etito (May 13, 2023), Dr Alex Igyemwase, Dr Asema Msuega (July 23, 2023), Dr Luis Onyeukwu (August 15, 2024) and, Dr Nwoga Innocent. Prof Ekanem was also kidnapped in Calabar.
Government has heard the NARD and other distress calls and just announced a potential security architecture shakeup to confront banditry, hopefully nationwide beyond the North. But it would have been security-wise to act before the announcement. We need massive security forces to successfully enclose, encircle, entrap and eliminate the bandit and kidnap threat. We must neutralise and not just disburse the bandits and kidnappers in 2024 to other states. We pray for release of all kidnap victims.
By Tony Marinho
