Resurgence Of Kidnapping And The Way Forward

In recent weeks, we have witnessed resurgence of that scary monster called kidnapping. At some point during the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari, the nation became so terrifyingly engulfed by that plague that no place, especially highways, throughout the federation was safe. The Abuja-Kaduna expressway became a notable hotspot while other parts of the country also had their own fair share of the prevailing terror.

The current wave of kidnappings that has gripped the nation is significant in one way; its hotspot is no less a place than Nigeria’s seat of power, the federal capital territory, Abuja. This is suggestive of the sheer boldness of the perpetrators and clear evidence that all is not well with Nigeria’s security apparatus. Under normal circumstances, criminals would avoid such a place being that it is expected to be heavily protected. Hence, the fact that the criminals have chosen Abuja, of all places, as their regular place of operation shows that there’s actually little in place to deter them; the security set-up there offers nothing spectacularly different to force them to look elsewhere.

Curiously, over the years, billions of naira have been continuously budgeted towards strengthening internal security in Nigeria. Apart from the resources spent on the police force and other internal security bodies, so much has been spent on the military to improve its capacity to support internal security efforts. Ironically, we are yet to witness a corresponding improvement in security, nay the security situation is even worsening.

One may argue that all these resources being budgeted are not going to where they should given our seemingly incurable culture of misappropriation; however, truth is that so much has actually gone into improving our security agencies as evident in the equipment being procured for them by both the federal and state governments. At least, we can confidently say that a lot of money has been spent on security, even if a lot meant for security has also been squandered. Consequently, there’s a strong reason to believe that what is wrong with our security architecture is more than just funding.

I have always posited that a big part of the problem lies in our crime-fighting culture. We have failed to plan and work towards adopting those methods suited to the peculiarities of our security challenges. The kidnappers appear to always be one step ahead of our security apparatus. They are able to strike and withdraw before our security agencies can respond. There is no greater incentive to criminals than the ability to be ahead of law enforcement agents.

The weapons and other equipment being purchased for the security agencies will achieve little if they do not improve the agencies’ capacity to be a step ahead of criminals. In other words, the guns, the ammunition, and the transport equipment may not have so much impact if they’re there to merely respond after criminals had struck and fled.

It has, therefore, become very clear that what we are lacking is an intelligence-based security culture. It’s an approach to security that relies primarily on proactive information obtained about criminals including their location, plans, methods, and strength. These pieces of information then become a guide for security agencies to plan and execute pre-emptive operations that nip criminal activities in the bud. Truly, there’s no greater disincentive to criminals than the fact that their adversaries are watching them and know, at least, some of their plans in advance.

When Hamas militants breached Israel’s border security late last year to attack the country, killing over a thousand citizens and taking more than 200 hostages, the first serious point of scrutiny was how that elaborate plan evaded the intelligence antennae of MOSSAD and Shinbet, Israel’s two premier intelligence agencies. If this had happened in Nigeria, such questions wouldn’t have sounded as loud as they sounded in Israel for the simple reason that we are not used to having security agencies that have demonstrated sophisticated intelligence capabilities as MOSSAD and Shinbet. So, naturally, we demand little of our security agencies in this regard.

Developing our security agencies’ intelligence capabilities requires three crucial steps. First is to initiate a change in ideology, in the crime-fighting philosophy of these institutions. Our crime-fighting philosophy appears to still rests on the outdated macho-styled approach of weapons display and muscle flexing as evident in the conduct of our security personnel. When a VIP, such as the Nigerian president, is walking through a busy spot, it’s all about pushing, shoving and other intimidating methods by his security details. Compare it to the more refined approach of the even more sophisticated security apparatus mounted around the president of the United States where you see no guns or muscle flexing agents, yet the protection is watertight. The difference in culture is glaring; while ours thrives on physical display, theirs relies on strategic thinking.

This culture also reflects on the way we approach a crime like kidnapping. From time to time, we have heard of security agencies engaging in a parade known as “show of force” aimed at deterring criminals. Such approach would not deter sophisticated criminals whose objective is to strike and withdraw before your “force” can be alerted and mobilised. Time is very critical to success of both crime and crime fighting. Thus, both criminals and crime fighters are in a constant battle to outdo each other in speed. And the most assured way of emerging triumphant is to be able to know or, at least, anticipate the move of the adversary. Evidently, kidnappers appear to be currently enjoying an advantage over our security agencies in this respect.

Changing the philosophy of crime fighting necessarily entails aligning the training and orientation of personnel to the new philosophy. This is the second step to be taken in the effort to reposition our security apparatus for effectiveness against kidnapping. As it stands today, the orientation of our security agents is not in tune with the intelligence-based approach being advocated here. Once a criminal activity is suspected, say in a building, the police rushes in to arrest everyone found in the building and its surroundings including mere passers-by! Little or no investigation would have followed this action, hence the arrests become a mere blind action that often ends up taking unsuspecting members of the public being that criminals are usually more wary, more watchful and ever ready to escape once danger is sensed.

Compare this to the approach used in more advanced nations. The case of internet fraudster, Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, was a good example. By the time the US was going public with his case, the long-running investigation was already completed and all arrangements concluded with the UAE for his arrest and extradition. So, everything went so fast and with precision given the amount of work that had been done behind the scene.

The third step to be taken towards strengthening the capacity of our security institutions for fighting kidnapping is use of technology. There is a lot that can be done in this regard, but my interest here is use of drones for establishing locations of kidnappers. These kidnappers are always in the bush where they keep their victims, and from where they emerge to take more victims. Drones that use powerful cameras, including those equipped with infrared for night vision can be employed in regular scanning of bushes running tens of kilometres within the radius of identified hotspots. Nigeria is not a particularly large territory compared to some other countries, so acquiring hundreds of such small-sized drones can get the entire country covered.

These drones will use GPS to map the exact positions of individuals discovered hiding in bushes and relay this to a control centre for onward action. Even in the military action against insurgents like Boko Haram, such drones can be most useful for identifying and selecting targets for artillery and aerial response. This technology has been used to a great effect by Ukraine in its current war against a much better equipped Russian military.

I believe strengthening our security apparatus for the war against kidnappers and criminals in general is a complex task with various dimensions. However, I have simply identified three measures I believe will be very crucial to our success in this task based on our experience and experience of other climes. But then, whatever be the case, the government of the day ought to know that it has a huge task in its hands when it comes to security. It cannot shy away from it.

Henry Chigozie Duru, PhD, teaches journalism and mass communication at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.