What an honor indeed? Nigeria is now ranked as the sixth (6) kidnapping country of the world! A sixth country where people are practically stolen from the streets and disappeared only to re-surface after a ransom is paid with the option to be forever gone with the wind! And who still wants to take a chance at being held for ransom and sometimes killed for failure to deliver the king's ransom? The tourist? The investor? The expatriate? The educator? The Foundations staffer? This blogger? You? Me? The list of people staying off is growing and who suffers most but the economy of Nigeria, which is bleeding off all these potential additional tourism revenue due to instability occasioned by fear of kidnappers and other sundry anarchists parading in the country.
Icheoku had written similarly on the kidnapping menace in Enugu State, urging a precise determinate action against such terrorists(kidnap and death of a high chief ); and will like to urge the Federal government of Nigeria to make the crime of kidnapping a death-penalty offence. Kidnapping or fear of it paints Nigeria in a very bad light and sabotages its economy which would otherwise benefit from extra foreign exchange receipts from visitors, tourists and investors wishing to come to Nigeria. With the price of oil, the main stay of Nigeria's economy, tanking, the government need to start taking in revenue from other sources including tourism and the kidnappers should not be allowed to stand in the way. No price is too much to pay to put a stop to this nightmare and Icheoku pledges to support whatever action aimed at stamping out this scourge. The government of Nigeria should therefore treat these miscreants as economic saboteurs and mete a dissuading justice to them accordingly. On the hierarchy of crimes, Icheoku says that kidnapping should rank amongst treason as it attacks the very essence of Nigeria sustenance and by extension, its existence! Now ranked among such countries like Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechyna, Philippines, Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico, Nigeria really need to press the accelerator to zoom out of this crowd fast. All the negative raps already heaped on Nigeria appear to be bad enough, but add kidnapping to it and Nigeria becomes a completely no-go area. Admitted that criminals masking as "businessmen" will always brave any condition whatsoever to see if they can ink one contract or catch a deal anywhere, even in Hell, but the real issue should be the standing of Nigeria in the eyes of the world, especially the tourists. Being tagged a kidnapping mecca of the world is a toga the Nigerian Foreign and Internal Affairs ministries should devote a greater percentage of their resources both in manpower, propaganda and money to wage a ruthless campaign against. They need to cleanse this insignia from Nigeria as the damage is unquantifiable both in revenue and reputation. Whatever it takes, let it be done including breaking some hands and legs if need be. Reputation is priceless and any nation without one is doomed!
Now take a little peek on how these top ten kidnapping-countries are viewed in the eyes of the world, in descending order:-
10. Haiti - It remains an unsafe place to visit, even considering the presence of the UN stabilization force. Kidnappers and street gangs are thriving in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. The targets include rich Haitians, diplomats, aid workers and, of course, foreign tourists.
9. Iraq – It doesn't come as a surprise, considering the widespread civil violence, that Iraq isn't one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. Violence and kidnappings occur on a regular basis and are mainly aimed at foreigners. Once the home to the most ancient civilizations, Iraq is now a place where several distinct forces are competing for control.
8. Afghanistan – Afghanistan has been experiencing a lot of turmoil in the wars that have been raging on for over 25 years. Presently, several areas of the country remain unsafe for travelers, Attacks targeting foreigners are ever frequent, especially suicide bombings concentrated around foreign embassies. Visitors are recommended to avoid gatherings, avoid travelling alone or at night. Afghanistan presently has one of the most volatile situations.
7. Chechnya – Ever since the Russian empire collapsed in 1991, southern Russian has been marked by the conflict between the Chechen separatists and the Russian forces, thus reducing almost most of the province to sad ruins of a long war. Rich in petro-chemicals, natural gas and oil, the country’s economy and infrastructure have been experiencing a serious crash, due to the on-going conflicts. Tourists are not safe in the country.
6. Nigeria – Africa’s most populous nation has a fascinating mixture of over 200 ethnic groups that, coupled with an unstable economy, often leads to a volatile situation. According to news reports, over 200 foreign oil workers have been kidnapped in the Niger Delta, most situations being resolved with a ransom. It is not a paradise for tourists as they are easy targets of kidnappers.
5. Philippines – The archipelago consisting of 7,107 islands is a fascinating, laid back natural paradise, with friendly, engaging people. But there’s a reason we included Philippines among the countries where tourists are most likely to get kidnapped. North Cotabato, Mindanao, Zamboanga peninsula, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and the Sulu archipelago are just a few areas that a traveller should necessarily avoid. Apart from the usual robberies and kidnappings, foreigners also risk having a drug put in their drink that knocks one out immediately. Tourists are then either robbed, raped or have their kidneys taken. 10 hours are needed to wake up from the drug and another three days to remember what happened.
4.Venezuela – With some of the most spectacular landscapes and the longest waterfall in the world, Venezuela truly is a sight not to be missed, if you’re willing to leave aside street crime, kidnappings or political turmoil. If not, know that street crime is present on a daily basis throughout the country. Tourists in Venezuela are the easiest target for pickpockets; so try to look like anything but a tourist. Don’t wear jewelry, watches, avoid unfolding maps, taking pictures and stay away from poor areas.
3. Colombia – National parks, high mountains, cruise boats or soaring skyscrapers are just a few of the numerous attractions Colombia has to offer. Even though it might sound like an untroubled paradise, Colombia has its fair share of drug dealers, robberies and kidnappings. Even though safety has improved in recent years, Colombia still suffers from high kidnapping and homicide rates in urban areas. The extra violence is provoked by the guerrillas which operate mainly in rural areas – tourists are warned to be avoid the border areas with Ecuador and Venezuela.
2. Brazil – The largest country in South America, teeming with beaches and untamed forests, Brazil is one of the most vibrant and colorful places on the continent. As with the other countries on the list, the downside is the street crime present in big cities, where attacks against tourists have become frequent. Apart from the usual kidnappings, there are also a high number of muggings; so simply leave your valuables at the hotel and take with you only a small amount of money. To top it all off, Brazil experienced an increase in the number of yellow fever and dengue fever cases, so be sure to have your shots before entering the country.
1. Mexico – Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world. You’ll come across plenty of corruption and the usual street crime that comes with every big city. Kidnapping for ransom is fairly common, especially in border cities such as Tijuana, Nogales or Juarez. As with other cities on the list, try not to look like a tourist, avoid flashing shiny, expensive objects and you should be fine.
Icheoku says, President Umaru Yar'Adua of Nigeria should call his security council's meeting immediately to harsh out a permanent fix to this creeping ugly trend of kidnapping which is enveloping Nigeria. It does not bode Nigeria any good and if left unchecked will metastasize into another cancer in the body-fabric of the country. It should therefore be stopped forthwith and decisively. Any action or measure taken by the government to root it out will be a welcome development with Nigerians and the international community. Enough of these negative marks on Nigeria's image by a few miscreants; who are cashing in on the present spineless administration to cause more terror and apprehension amongst Nigerians and her visitors. Opportunity calls for Umaru Yar'Adua to rise and shine, and re-establish himself as an authentic Nigerian leader, if only he can muster the will and determination to be a little tough on crimes including kidnapping. Now is the time to seriously mean it and do it, (the fight against crimes) Mr. President!
Kidnapped UC RUSAL-ALSCON Director Feared Killed
ReplyDeleteFrom Okon Bassey in Uyo, 01.01.2009
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Militants may have killed the Deputy Managing Director of UC RUSAL –ALSCON in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Sergey Zamolaylov, who was kidnapped about two weeks ago.
A soldier had earlier been killed while several other sustained injuries in the early morning invasion of the expatriate's residence in Ikot Abasi by the militants.
Zamolaylov, a Russian and another senior management staff, a Finance Controller, were allegedly kidnapped by the Niger Delta militants who stormed his official residence in Ikot Abasi.
THISDAY gathered that Zamolaylov was allegedly shot on the leg when he resisted the attempt to abduct him during the raid of the area on the fateful day. Although the Public Affairs Officer of the smelter factory, Mr. Felix Nyong, said he was not competent to speak to the media on the issue, sources told THISDAY yesterday that the Russian died from gun shot wounds in an undisclosed hospital few days after the attack.
Nyong said his counterpart, Vera Kurochkira, from Moscow where UC RUSAL had its headquarters would be in a better position to release information on the matter to the public.
A militants group, the Niger Delta Militants Force Squad (NDMFS) had since admitted responsibility for the said attack on the expatriate residence .
Spokesperson for the group, one Ateke Junior, had in a statement said the attack was to remind President Umaru Yar’Adua, the Director General of the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE), Irene Chigbue, and the state Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, of the plight of former employees of ALSCON who were disengaged without being paid their compensation.
Sources said Zamolaylov and the Finance Controller were allegedly selected for the attack by the militants because they were allegedly responsible for the non- payment of the severance benefits and other entitlements of the former workers of the company sacked in the course of the privatisation of the plant.
Renowned author, Elechi Amadi, abducted, freed
ReplyDeleteBy Ibanga Isine, Olamilekan Lartey, and Chukwudi Akasike
Published: Wednesday, 7 Jan 2009
The rash of kidnappings in the Niger Delta has entered into the new year with two prominent indigenes of the region— Dr. Elechi Amadi and Chief Nelson Efiong— being the latest victims.
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Elechi Amadi
Amadi, a renowned author, academic and chairman of the Rivers State Scholarship Board, was seized from his Mbodo Aluu residence on Monday night by heavily armed gunmen. Effiong, the immediate past Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, was kidnapped on Sunday in Oron.
The incidents were confirmed on Tuesday by the Spokesman for the Joint Task Force in Rivers State, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, and the Akwa Ibom State Police Pubic Relations Officer, Mr. Gab Ngban.
Musa later told our correspondents around 9pm that the author was released by the gunmen with no ransom paid.
“He is back in his home in Mbodo Aluu(near Port Harcourt). He is in a stable condition,” he said.
Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, his Bayelsa State counterpart, Mr. Timipre Sylva, and the Rivers State chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors had earlier called for the Septuagenarian’s immediate release.
Amadi, a former commissioner of Education in Rivers State, is the author of many novels and plays, including, “The Concubine,” “The Great Ponds,” and “The Slave,” which centre on the life and values of the traditional village society.
He has written many poems, most of which deal with people that try to change their course of life but failed.
On September 25, 2008, top literary figures within and outside the country, including Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, foremost Ghanaian Prof. Kofi Awoonor, gathered in Port Harcourt to celebrate his contribution to literature and learning.
The programme was organised under the auspices of the Garden City Literary Festival and Book Fair by the Association of Nigerian Authors, Rainbow Foundation and the Rivers State Government.
Reacting, Amaechi described the abduction of the elder statesman as not only a shame but an insult on the psyche of River State indigenes.
The governor had in a statement by his Acting Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Blessing Winika, called on “those who are holding him to release him immediately for him to continue his duties of educating the younger generation which is part of his undying passion.”
He had said, “It is shameful that while our intellectuals are celebrated all over the world by their contemporaries and those who appreciate greatness, here we make them objects of shame, humiliation and disgrace by people who call themselves Niger Delta freedom fighters.”
Amaechi added that the rationale behind the Niger Delta struggle would be further defeated if “prized intellectuals are made to face shame and humiliation.”
The governor cautioned the abductors to ensure that Amadi had access to his drugs since he is an asthmatic patient.
Sylva, who also denounced the abduction of the novelist, said, “Amadi is a world literary figure and an icon of the Niger Delta and one of those the world looks up to in trying to appreciate the social reality in the region.
“This treatment meted out to him certainly diminishes the Niger Delta struggle before the world. It also reduces us as a people and must be condemned in the strongest term possible.”
The governor appealed to Niger Delta youths to eschew criminality and embark on activities that would make them reap from the wind of change in the country.
“It would be bad for us if our leaders of tomorrow let these opportunities pass us by. For us in Bayelsa State, our doors are open to receive all our children who share our vision of change in the Niger Delta,” he said.
Also, the writers in Rivers State said it was regrettable for anybody to think of kidnapping Amadi, whom it described as “a harmless man.”
The writers who spoke through their Chairman, Mr. Nyeso Minima,had disclosed that their executive committee would meet to consider how to secure Amadi’s release.
He said, “It is a condemnable act against an innocent person; somebody, who is harmless. We are going to meet and decide on some steps to take to ensure his immediate release.
“We call on the kidnappers to free him unconditionally and without hurt. It is sad that they have no respect for age and the contribution he has made to this state and this country.”
In Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, the Spokesman for the state Police Command, Mr. Ngban, said the police had put everything in place to ensure the release of the former Speaker of the state Assembly, Mr. Effiong.
Ngban said the command would brief journalists on the many security issues affecting the state, including the kidnap of the former Speaker.
The incumbent Speaker, Mr. Ignatius Edet, who had earlier expressed sadness over the incident, disclosed that the Assembly was planning to pass a bill on anti-kidnapping.
Our correspondent in Uyo learnt on Tuesday that the gunmen trailed the ex-lawmaker to his house in Oron before dragging him into a waiting vehicle.
It was also gathered that the bandits had demanded N100m from Effiong’s family before they could release him.
Meanwhile, the nursery school in Bayelsa State where a parent foiled an attempt to kidnap a child has reopened with armed soldiers stationed at its gates.
The soldiers were seen by our correspondent in Yenagoa controlling vehicular movements on the popular Imgbi Road where the school is located.
There had been anxiety in the city since December 2008 when the upsurge in child abductions force many schools to shelve their end-of-year celebrations for their pupils.
A vigilant parent had engaged the kidnappers of the three-year-old son of an aide to the state‘s Commissioner of Finance and Budget in a scuffle as they forced the kid into a waiting car.
Kidnapping now capital offence in Abia
ReplyDeleteWritten by VANGUARD
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
Umuahia— Governor Theodore Orji of Abia has signed the 2008 Abia Criminal Code Law that stipulates death penalty for kidnapping. Speaking after signing the law yesterday in Umuahia, Orji said it was to stop kidnapping for ransom.
He said anyone caught and found guilty would not only die, but forfeit his property to the government.
“This is one of the measures to tackle kidnapping and deal decisively with the culprits.
“Those apprehended were not prosecuted because this law had not been in existence, but today anyone found guilty of kidnapping will bear the brunt of the law,’’ Orji said.
Also, addressing newsmen, the Deputy Speaker, House of Assembly, Chinedum Elechi, said that the previous punishment for kidnapping for ransom was 20 years imprisonment.
He said the amendment became necessary following the incessant cases of kidnapping recorded in recent times, which had caused image problem to the government.
He regretted that some persons had turned into a cartel by engaging boys who did the dirty deal for them as proceeds from the act were shared.
“Now, the law has been amended to make it a capital offence for offenders,’’ Elechi said.
He stressed that the law did not only target the kidnappers, but also conspirators in the game.
The state has recorded several incidents of kidnapping of residents of the state and in one incident, the kidnap of Chief John Iruke, the state offered a reward of N1 million for information on his abductors.
Amaechi:Why I Want Kidnappers Hanged
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Lilian Agih, Abuja
March 2nd, 2009
Following concerns expressed by Amnesty International over his decision to push for capital punishment for kidnappers, Rivers State governor, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has again adduced reasons why kidnappers should be made to pay the ultimate price.
Amaechi, who spoke at the weekend in a meeting with top officials of Amnesty International at the body's international secretariat in London, expressed conviction in his decision, maintaining that there was need to apply punitive measures to arrest the trend.
The human rights body, led by its deputy director, Africa Programme, Tawanda Hondora, expressed concern over the governor's decision to push for capital punishment for kidnappers in Rivers State, but Amaechi was emphatic in his stance.
His words: "I appreciate your concerns, but what you don't know is that we are faced with a very unusual and peculiar criminality that kidnapping in the Niger Delta has become. Strong punitive measures must be put in place to stop these criminals from kidnapping. And the law must be enforced when these crimes are committed. The other day a little girl was killed as the kidnappers made away with her brother.
"Armed robbery is when you take away material things from someone with the use of force. And what is kidnapping? Using force to take away human beings. So, why should the punishment for armed robbery be death and the other is not?"
The governor, who was accompanied by his media consultant and key adviser, Mr. David Iyofor, allayed the fears of the organisation that the kidnappers might decide to kill their victims if they knew that they would get death sentence for kidnapping.
He said, "The criminals are in the business for the money. If they kill their victims, how will they get the money? They need their victims to be alive so that they can collect huge ransom money. And don't forget that this thing has become one massive operation, with a lot of money spent in kidnapping and keeping a victim, and they will need to make money from the victim by way of ransom. And they can't get that if they kill their victims"
Amaechi, who also spoke on the demolitions going on in Port Harcourt and the proposed development of waterfronts and the fate of its present inhabitants, made it abundantly clear that the state government was only demolishing illegal structures that violate the Port Harcourt master plan, in accordance with the laws of the state, and that it was fences of buildings that were mostly affected.
On waterfronts, he noted that the state government would value and pay compensation for properties of the present inhabitants in order for them to relocate to other parts of the state before development of the waterfronts commences.
"We understand that they are poor and may not be able to afford another accommodation; that is why we are putting all these measures in place. And Amnesty International is free to come to Rivers State at any time to assess the situation. It is even better to visit and see than rely on information that seems to be usually inaccurate or, at best, exaggerated", Amaechi concluded.
Rivers kidnappers to face death penalty as assembly passes bill
ReplyDeleteWritten by Uboks Gab, Port Harcourt
Tuesday, 03 March 2009
In line with the content of the Kidnapping and Prohibition Bill 2009 any person or group of persons caught in the act of kidnapping in the state would be made to face optimal judicial penalty of death.
This was the collective decision of the 32 member Rivers State House of Assembly yesterday, as it took a second look at the bill passed earlier last month.
Representing the bill on the floor of the assembly, the Deputy Leader of the House, Hope Ikiriko told members that there were typographical errors discovered in the bill that was passed into law and sent to the governor of the state for his accent.
Ikiriko said it was the errors that warranted the leadership of the assembly to bring the bill back to the floor of the house in order to correct the spotted printer’s devil found in the first copy of the bill.
Deliberations and fine-tuning of the bill had given members the opportunity to effect further amendments on it, and such amendments were targeted at the capital penalty for offenders of the anticipated criminal law of the state.
Thus, rather than the initial penalty of life imprisonment earlier associated with the bill, anyone who indulges in kidnapping or found to have sponsored same would be made by the law enforcement organ of the state to face death sentence.
Governor Rotimi Amaechi was said to have insisted that death penalty be meted out to those who might be found in the kidnap business.
The governor was also said to have reminded the lawmakers that there was no marked difference between armed robbery and kidnapping, as both crimes involved the use of fire arms and ammunitions and possible harming, injuring and maiming of victims.
The bill having been passed, it was gathered that, would be sent for executive assented in order to ensure that it comes into operation as one of the major ways of checking kidnapping and other related crimes in the state.
The assembly had earlier said it would use its legislative instruments to also grant what it called total amnesty to any genuinely repentant militant or group of militants in the state that genuinely dropped arms and decided to live a new life style.
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