A Defence Studies expert, Dr Sani Abubakar, has called for the establishment of a specialised Hostage and Kidnapping Prevention Agency to tackle the growing menace of abductions and hostage-taking across the country.
Abubakar made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, while assessing the impact of negotiations and ransom payments on Nigeria’s security landscape.
He said the most effective strategy in addressing kidnapping and hostage situations was prevention, noting that once abductions occur, society often becomes vulnerable to the demands of captors, especially when children were involved.
According to him, negotiations and mediation remain globally accepted tools for resolving hostage situations and violent conflicts as can be seen from the Israeli-Palestinian and U.S.-Taliban conflicts.
He said mediators and negotiators could facilitate hostage releases, prisoner exchanges and provide credible intelligence that may assist government efforts.
The expert however, expressed concern over the growing trend of negotiations being centred on ransom payments.
According to him, families increasingly engage directly with kidnappers and insurgents to negotiate and pay ransom for the release of their loved ones.
He warned that ransom payments should be discouraged because they constitute a major source of funding for insurgents, bandits and other armed groups.
He cited reports by SBM Intelligence and the National Bureau of Statistics indicating that Nigerian households paid an estimated N2.23 trillion in ransom within a 12-month period.
”Such payments strengthen criminal networks and enable them to sustain and expand their operations,” he said.
Abubakar urged the Federal Government to establish a Hostage and Kidnapping Prevention Agency equipped with advanced technology and tactical capabilities to prevent abductions and conduct rescue operations when necessary.
He said the proposed agency should operate under the direct supervision of the President and be modeled after elite hostage rescue units in advanced countries.
The expert also expressed concern that armed groups had become emboldened enough to abduct retired military generals and publicise footage of captives on social media.
He said that many women and children remained in the captivity of insurgent groups, with several cases unknown to the public.
”The growing trend of kidnappings and prolonged captivity risks creating an impression of state weakness and undermining public confidence in government institutions,” he said.
He called for improved intelligence gathering, stronger inter-agency collaboration and greater deployment of technology such as drones to strengthen security operations.
He also advocated reforms in the justice sector, saying effective prosecution and punishment of offenders would serve as a deterrent and contribute significantly to reducing kidnapping and insurgency-related crimes in the country.
