Kidnapping- What You Must Know! Have you ever been a victim of kidnap? Do you ever imagine what things can turn out to be in the den of those kidnappers? What if the opportunity comes out for escape, will you jump at it? What if am asked to negotiate my ransom, should I do it? All these are questions that run in the mind of a kidnapped victim. In this article, we will learn from the true-life experience of those who are survivors of the menace, kidnapping. It also includes what they suggest you must do to gain your freedom unharmed!
It is a lucrative business and the shortest means to wealth. This is how many are involved in the crime of kidnapping, see it. Will there ever be a way out of this precarious situation? To keep our family safe from being kidnapped, what steps must we take? See the article, “Kidnapping – A Commercialized Terror”.
The biggest organized or gang crime in Nigeria by bandits and insurgents is kidnapping and is a national security challenge. Resistance to kidnapping often results in the deaths of victims. Thousands of Nigerians have fallen victims to the crime and have had to pay millions of dollars in ransom for their freedom.
The current wave of abductions across the country makes every person a potential target. Regardless of your social class or economic status, you can be kidnapped. Unlike kidnapping in the early 2000s which started in the Niger Delta region and the one by the terrorist group in the Northeast and Northwest that begin in 2009 when the conflict in this part of the country started.
What Statistics Shows
Kidnapping for ransom on a commercial scale became rampant in 2011. And spread across all the 36 states of the country’s Federation including the capital, Abuja. In the northeast state of Zamfara, Katsina, and Kaduna, hundreds of Community members – mostly young people are often abducted by Bandits operating from the forest -Wikipedia.
In February 2021, a Nigerian journalist and a BBC reporter wrote:
“The Nigerian government seems to have suggested that it can no longer be relied on to keep citizens safe”
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani
The statistic shows that the situation is growing from bad to worst day by day. What can you do if kidnapped?
10 Things To Do If Kidnapped
Those who have experienced kidnapping and have studied the subject offers the following suggestions to people who may be kidnapped:
- Be Cooperative: Avoid obstinate behaviors. Harsh treatment is more often given to hostages who are antagonistic and they run a greater risk of being killed or singled out for punishment.
- Do not panic: Keep in mind that most victims survive kidnapping. So do not panic, rather be friendly and speak with mildness to the kidnappers.
- Devise a system to keep track of time: Your phone and valuables will be collected from you, so devise means of keeping track of time.
- Try to establish some sort of daily routine: if you have space and little freedom, establish some daily routine so as not to become sick or bored.
- Exercise, even though your opportunities to move may be limited.
- Be Observant: Try to memorize details, sounds, and smells. Learn details about your kidnappers.
- Engage in small talks if possible and try to establish contact. If the kidnappers see you as an individual, they will be less likely to harm or kill you.
- Make them aware of your needs in a polite manner.
- Never try to negotiate your own ransom: this might not be productive, rather allow relatives or friends out there to do that on your behalf.
- If you find yourself in the middle of a rescue attempt, drop to the floor, and wait passively as events unfold. It’s not the time to run, you might be shot in the process.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the problem of kidnapping is so complex and its roots are so deep that presently, what the government and the security agencies are doing to nip it from the bud, seems grossly inadequate to eliminate it.
So as much as you can, protect yourself and your family from the menace of kidnapping which is now a commercialized terror in our Country, Nigeria.
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