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Nigeria Lacks What It Takes To Rescue Kidnap Victims – Ubani

A Security Consultant says he doubts if Nigeria has what it takes to successfully rescue kidnap victims. Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, … Continue reading Nigeria Lacks What It Takes To Rescue Kidnap Victims – Ubani


chigozie ubani on kidnapA Security Consultant says he doubts if Nigeria has what it takes to successfully rescue kidnap victims.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Chigozie Ubani, said that the Police has little or nothing to do about the issue of kidnapping, because training, equipment, manpower, intelligence among others are lacking in the area of solving kidnap cases.

Mr Ubani sympathised with the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae who was recently kidnapped but released after four days.

“My sympathy to Olu Falae, not because he has been a Federal Minister, but because of his age.

“It is even good that this happened to a man of his pedigree so that national attention would be drawn to the menace of kidnapping.

“People have been paying ransom and these young men and those behind them have been making money. So, kidnapping is an economic crime.

“The earlier the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, and other security agencies begin to understand this, the better for us”, he said.

Giving his opinion on the rescue of Falae by the Police, Mr Ubani said that “there are no policies in the country” as it took an order from the President for the rescue effort to be intensified, “President Muhammadu Buhari gave an order and everything was deployed,” he said.

Ubani demanded that the Inspector General of Police should disclose if a ransom was paid for the release of Chief Olu Falae, adding that, “if government pays kidnappers to rescue high profile citizens, it means we are in trouble.

“If Falae was rescued, I will gladly walk on the street knowing that if I’m kidnapped, the Police will come to rescue me,” he stressed.

He also attributed some kidnap cases to politics, “I see political actors who engage the services of these young men in the course of protecting themselves, intimidating their opponents, electioneering, and soon after, the kidnappers are dumped.”

Mr Ubani also suggested the use of technology to curb the trend, warning that “kidnappers are not lazy people” and “they think and act fast ahead of security agencies”.

“I am a practitioner and an advocate of security technology and I am aware that we can use technology to bring this down, but it will take a lot of money, and power on the side of the government to get these things put to use,” he said.

“Politicians have to purge themselves; government has to take it hard on politicians who recruit and engage the kidnappers, the law has to be strong enough,we need to equip the Police with training, human capacity and we also need to look at the society in terms of our value systems,” he said.