Senate Stand On Kidnapping Commendable

Senate President David Mark echoed the feelings of many Nigerians on the rising kidnap saga when he suggested at the Senate during a debate on; “the abduction of some journalists” that stiffer penalties [even jungle justice] should be prescribed for individuals who have made the forceful and illegal seizure and detention of fellow Nigerians for ransom their stock in trade.

David Mark and other senators expressed anger at the spate of kidnapping in several parts of the country especially the south east, south south axis of the country and wondered why police commissioners in states where the incident is known to be rampant should be allowed to still remain in office.

Senate President Mark subsequently advocated the declaration of a state of emergency in states where there are incessant cases of kidnap and robberies as he took a swipe at the Police Commissioner in Abia state for dereliction of duties.

The senate president's remarks were uttered during debates on a motion on the spate of robberies, kidnapping and insecurity in the country.
Other concerned Nigerians at home and abroad have equally expressed concern and apprehension over the complete helplessness of the police to kidnapping, robbery, assassinations and general insecurity in Nigeria, a country which has invested huge amounts of money, energy, time and other resources on campaigns for foreign investment.

Senate President Mark said: “The way I see it is, if we can declare a state of emergency on power, we should declare a state of emergency on kidnapping. We should declare a state of emergency in all these areas where we have armed robbery and kidnapping and because I think we have a misconception on the issue of state of emergency, it does not mean you will remove the governor, and then take over, no. It is part of our Constitution.''

The Federal Government should not joke with the spate of robberies, kidnapping and insecurity in the country as doing so would amount to toying with the lives of millions of Nigerians who have been left so far at the mercy of the bandits roaming freely around the countryside and looking for easy prey. Almost every family in the south east and south south has been touched one way or the other by criminals who feed with violent crimes.

It is certainly amusing, even flattering and a bit of a counter drama that the police immediately after the Senate debate came up with statistics of arrested abductors it claimed were made in the past months which was put at 400, an alarming figure whose accuracy has been questioned by many Nigerians since it has not depleted the number of kidnappers or dampened the will of the perpetrators to strike at will.

The Federal Government should adopt as a policy the Senate stand on kidnapping along with other palliative measures like extending amnesty to the youths, providing them training and funds like the Niger Delta militants have enjoyed, with the hope that they would be cajoled into changing their ways. Many state governments have already made kidnapping, robbery and assassination crimes deserving maximum punishment by death and to a large extent, it has deterred the gangsters from operating at random.