They had just attended the national executive meeting of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. On their way back to their locations last Sunday, delegates from Delta, Kwara, Ogun and Lagos states had chosen to move in a convoy. At Ukbariki, near Aba, Abia State, along Uyo-Aba road, the rhythm of the convoy was broken by men of the underworld, agents of darkness, and evangelists of sorrow. Screeching tyres reacted to the menace of the gun-toting intruders, sending occupants of the various vehicles scampering. Those from Lagos, the largest state chapter, were not so lucky. They were overpowered by the merchants of fear, who double crossed their Toyota Sienna vehicle, shot the tyres to prevent escape, and abducted the occupants.
By the time the fleeing delegates from Delta, Kwara and Ondo regained their wits, their colleagues had become the latest victims of the fast booming trade east of the Niger—kidnapping, with a ransom of N250 million dangling over their heads. Abducted were Wahab Oba, chair of the Lagos NUJ, Adolphus Okonkwo, zonal secretary, Sylva Okereke, assistant secretary, Sola Oyedipo, and their driver, Azeez Abdulrauf.
Predictably, denunciations have trailed the abductions. Religious leaders, state officials, politicians, journalists, and even the police have been trying to outdo themselves in employing appropriate words to condemn what is truly a heinous crime. It is not clear if the kidnappers targeted journalists specifically, or were just waiting on the road for any easy prey, but the temptation to think so is attractive, considering that the vehicles were well branded. The Sienna reportedly read ‘The Nigeria Union of Journalists—Lagos Chapter’.
Wittingly or unwittingly the kidnappers have returned Abia State to the front burner of national discourse on the menace of kidnapping and insecurity in Nigeria. The abduction of the Lagos NUJ delegates reminds the world of the perilous times in which we live, confirms that journalism is a dangerous trade, and restates that Abia State is the kidnapper’s haven. Abia, hitherto the land of commerce and enterprise, has in the last two years acquired the notoriety as home of kidnappers and disorder.
A few decades ago, kidnapping in Nigeria was associated only with moneymaking rituals. Not anymore. About nine years ago, it was elevated to a bargaining tool in the Niger Delta where victims of state neglect sought to call attention to their plight by holding foreigners working in the oil sector as hostages. Later it degenerated into a booming business and anyone with hostage value was fair game to the kidnappers.
As if to show that the Niger Deltans are amateurs the anarchists in Abia State have upped the act. They have turned kidnapping into sheer criminality, unsparing and unforgiving in their choice of victims. Daily, at any hour, kidnappers strike with befuddling precision, snatching men, women, the young and the aged, haggling and extorting money from families of hapless victims with the state as pathetic spectator. 24 hours after the Sunday abductions, the kidnappers were already discounting the ransom, offering to accept N150 million.
The failure of governance in the area of life and property is captured in the reported reaction of the Akwa Ibom State Police commissioner, Walter Rugbere to the Sunday abductions. According to the Punch of Monday, Mr. Rugbere wondered why the NUJ executives chose to drive along “a dangerous zone” instead of flying. “The NUJ executives shouldn’t have passed through Abia State. The road is a very dangerous road for travellers”.
In a case of wisdom after the act, the honourable police commissioner did not say if he passed such ‘intelligence’ to the delegates who spent three days in Uyo, which is under his watch. Nor did he say if the federal government had closed the inter-state road because it was unsafe for commuters. For as long as part of the road falls under his purview it is expected that he would do his utmost to protect honest travellers in search of their daily bread from evil marauders. Trying to blame journalists for plying a public road for legitimate business is insensitive and diversionary.
The Abia State government has obviously failed. Governor Theodore Orji’s endless change of his commissioners’ portfolios has not impacted on internal security. It is tempting to excuse his lack of direct control on the police but that is only a small part of the story. Mr. Orji has not demonstrated enough courage in addressing the menace. His offer of amnesty to kidnappers to discourage further kidnaps has not yielded any fruit. The communities that produce these evildoers fall under his purview. The agents of darkness are not spirits. They are human beings with families. It should not take forever to fish them out and restore Abia to Nigeria’s hallowed comity of legitimate commerce and enterprise.
MILORD
Blog posted here.
