Analysing Interviews by the Kaduna-Abuja kidnappers
By Aliyu Nuhu
1- That it was carried out by Fulani.
They claimed they sold their cows to buy arms to protect themselves because in the forests there was no security agents to protect them.
The bad ones took to kidnapping as a faster way of making money.
Where they bought the guns is something the police didn’t bother to ask. It is the most crucial thing to know so as to break the supply chain. Police was not thinking the way we do. Reason is in Nigeria arms are mostly bought from security agencies, including the police. Visit any custom,police,army, air force or navy and ask for the missing arms register and you will be shocked. Where do you think the guns go to? They go to civilian hands for kidnapping, armed robbery and insurgency.
2- The kidnappers claim they and their families and cattle live in the forests.
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Yes nomadic Fulani don’t live in towns but definitely not thick forests except those that harbour intention to commit crimes. Their camps are within towns where they mingle with the rest of the society. It is time for government to enter the forests with military and chase everyone out of it.
3- Kidnappers arraigned in courts were released on bail by unscrupulous judges with the connivance of some lawyers.
Nigeria is a sad story. How can someone on trial who confessed to committing violent crimes including murder be released on bail? What is wrong with our justice system. Are kidnappings and murder bailable offences? With this development I support the police to carry some self-help including extra-judicial measures that will at least ensure the kidnappers did not make it to the courts with their arms and limbs intact. Irresponsible justice system needs irresponsible policing. How can police risk their lives to arrest dangerous criminals and just watch as one judge releases them back to society to continue their crimes where they stopped?
4- The hideouts of kidnappers are still unknown and not raided by security agencies. All arrests were made after the operations. The job of police should not stop at the highways. They must penetrate the bush and uproot the criminals.
Arewa Agenda is a Publication of Young Writers from Northern Nigeria towards Peaceful Coexistence and National Development through positive narratives.
