Kidnap victims can demand ransom back — Falana

Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, has called on Nigerians who have paid ransom to kidnappers to take legal action against the Federal Government, demanding refunds.

He argued that the government has failed in its constitutional duty to protect citizens.

Speaking at the opening of the Legal Year at the Faculty of Law, University of Abuja, Falana cited both the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, stressing that the state is legally obligated to safeguard lives and ensure security for all citizens.

Falana criticised what he described as selective government responses to abductions.

While swift action is often taken when high-profile individuals are kidnapped, ordinary citizens are frequently left to negotiate their own release.

“The government has a duty to protect every life. If that life is threatened or taken, the government must pay for it,” Falana said.

“When judges, ministers, or former ministers are kidnapped, security forces are promptly deployed.

Ordinary Nigerians, however, are at the mercy of criminals, and their families must scramble to pay ransom.

“Since all citizens are equal before the law, the government must treat everyone equally.”

Security analysts have repeatedly warned that kidnapping has evolved into a highly organised and lucrative criminal enterprise in Nigeria.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigerians paid an estimated N2.23 trillion in ransom between May 2023 and April 2024.

The bureau’s Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) 2024 also reported over 2.2 million kidnapping incidents during the same period, with an average ransom of N2.7 million per victim.

Meanwhile, banditry attacks continue to escalate in Shanono communities in Kano State.

Last Sunday, bandits reportedly kidnapped five nursing mothers in the Shanono Local Government Area, barely a week after troops of the 3 Brigade of the Nigerian Army repelled a deadly gang invasion that left 19 criminals neutralised.

One of the women reportedly narrowly escaped, while the bandits allegedly discarded the babies of the kidnapped mothers before taking them to an undisclosed location.

Narrating the attack, Faruruwa village community leader Alhaji Yahya Bagobiri told journalists on Monday that the incursion left five women missing and a large number of livestock stolen.

He expressed concern over the persistent attacks in the Fulani-dominated areas despite the heavy deployment of military and security personnel, warning that the situation is rapidly deteriorating.