Last week the media was awash with reports that the former Governor of Gombe state, lbrahim Hassan Dankwambo, narrowly escaped being kidnapped by armed bandits along the Abuja-Kaduna highway in Kaduna state. Besides, the kidnappers killed three persons and abducted several passengers on the highway near Olam Farm. This undesirable situation underscores the need for improved security on the nation’s highways.
A statement issued by an aide to Dankwambo last week disclosed that the former governor’s escape occurred on Tuesday when his convoy ran into the abductors on their way to Abuja, saying the incident was recorded on a video clip. “On our way to Abuja kidnappers blocked the Abuja-Kaduna road at 4.35pm, but our policemen chased them away and we found out that they abducted many people.
“The Kaduna-Abuja road is now a danger zone. Today, kidnappers blocked the road and were abducting passengers when Dankwambo’s convoy arrived the scene. His security details fired shots and dispersed them, but they went away with many persons,” the statement reads. However, three persons were killed during the operation.
A commercial vehicle driver, Jibrin Adamu, who escaped the attack, told journalists that the gunmen blocked a spot around Olam Farm, where they killed three persons and kidnapped about a dozen others.“The gunmen blocked the expressway and opened fire on vehicles driving by. They kidnapped dozens of people during the operation and took them into the bush”.
Meanwhile, the management of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, confirmed that three students of the institution were kidnapped and later released. The students were among the victims that were kidnapped along the Abuja-Kaduna highway. Director, Public Affairs Directorate, ABU, Dr. Ismai’l Shehu, said that armed bandits kidnapped three final year students of the Faculty of Law.
It was, however, revealed that the three abducted students of the ABU – Maryam Bello, Fatima Jalingo and Umar Sagir – were released after their families paid N5.5 million ransom to the abductors. The Kaduna state police spokesperson, Yakubu Sabo, who issued a press statement penultimate Wednesday in Kaduna, said the police have reunited the victims with their families.
Similarly, a lawmaker, representing Zaria constituency in the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Hon Suleiman Ibrahim Dabo, was kidnapped while returning to Kaduna from Zaria after visiting his constituents last Friday but freed hours later after the payment of ransom, family members said. The police have since confirmed the kidnap.
Also, kidnappers abducted the younger sister to Delta state Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s wife, identified as Elizabeth, but the state Commissioner of Police (CP), Adeleke Adeyinka, denied knowledge of the abduction. Insiders at Government House, Asaba, confirmed that Elizabeth was actually seized since last weekend, close to Temple Clinic junction, which is a stone throw from Government House. However, some suspects have been arrested in an attempt to secure her
No fewer than 72 people were killed in different violent attacks across Nigeria in one week alone in July. At least 32 people were also kidnapped during the period. The killings occurred despite the claim of the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, that the military has recorded “great success” in the fight against insecurity across the country. Victims of the attacks include two top Zamfara officials, the mother of a former Nigerian footballer and 10 military personnel.
Apparently, flowing from rising cases of kidnapping along the nation’s highways, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, said the force has procured special patrol vehicles to be deployed soon across highways in the country to tackle insecurity. Adamu said on Tuesday during his official visit to officers and men of the Oyo state Police Command that the vehicles, which were different from the usual patrol vehicles currently in operation, have special gadgets that would help to easily detect crime on the highways.
Adamu also said that the government had acquired body armour for the protection of officers on duty, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari had agreed to ensure that the existing police barracks were renovated while new ones were constructed.
“The renovation and construction of new barracks will solve the problem of officers looking for accommodation to rent and bring back the barracks to the situation it used to be in the past. The president has also instructed that special promotion be given to officers that are hardworking and excelling in the performance of their duty. This is to encourage them to put in more effort and I urge you all to be hardworking so as to benefit from this special promotion,” Adamu said.
We commend the efforts of the police hierarchy at stemming the menace of rising insecurity across the country, particularly kidnappings on the highways. Nevertheless, it is expedient to advise on the need for closer collaboration between the various security agencies with a view to avoid working at cross purposes. This framework will also provide a template to easily fish out bad eggs within the system. The recent killing of three police officers by soldiers in Taraba state, otherwise known as the Wadume saga, is a pointer to this assertion; a recurrence of which must be avoided.
