…Kidnapping becoming very lucrative 

Christopher Bakare, the farm supervisor at late former Governor of Oyo State, Adebayo Alao-Akala’s farm, who was kidnapped, on Saturday evening by suspected Fulani herdsmen has revealed that he was freed after the payment of an N 5 million ransom was paid to his kidnappers.

According to a relative of the victim, who recounted Bakare’s ordeal, he was subjected to severe beatings from his abductors.

“Bakare was severely tortured, tied to a tree, and given no food,” his relative said while narrating Bakare’s ordeal.

Recall that Bakare was kidnapped at TDB farm at Jabata, Surulere Local Government Area of the state. And his abductors initially placed N100million ransom on him but after four days of intense negotiations, they settled for five million naira.

The close relative further stated that Bakare was released last night.

Ipledge2nigeria learned that the ransom was taken to a forest in Otte area, the boundary between Oyo and Kwara states on the Ogbomoso-Ilorin expressway.

In recent times kidnapping has become a very lucrative business across the country with victims’ families and relatives paying as much as 100 million naira as ransom.

A few months ago the kidnapers of the Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Samuel Kanu-Uche, were paid N100 million.

The Prelate was attacked and kidnapped on May 29 while returning from a program in the area alongside his chaplain, Abidemi Shittu, and the Church’s Owerri Bishop, Dennis Okechukwu in Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria’s South-east.

Unfortunately, some victims are killed even after their families and relatives have paid the ransom. 

In April a popular Kano-based businessman, Alhaji Umar Sani, was kidnapped along Kaduna-Birnin Gwari and killed after his family paid the ransom.

Also on February 24, 2022, bandits invaded Kasan Dam in the Rigachikun community in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State and abducted a bride-to-be, Khadija, and five others.

However, they killed one of the victims after collecting one million from the family.

In a bid to put an end to the payment of ransom, the Nigeria Senate has passed an amendment of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2013 which prohibits ransom payment to kidnappers. 

When this amendment becomes law, Nigerians who pay ransoms to kidnappers risk spending 15 years in jail.  

Hopefully, this legislation would create a turnaround not only in the security issues of Nigeria but even in the economy of the country.