Demystifying amnesty calls to bandits and kidnappers
SIR: Nigeria has been notorious for ethno- religious, communal, political conflicts. Of late, banditr y and kidnapping have become a menace in Nigeria forming part of the predicaments confronting and distorting development progression in Nigeria.
Subsequently, kidnapping for ransom has become part and parcel of insecurity problems of Nigeria today . Coincidentally, it is part of the inhuman criminal activity that has escalated over the years alongside other insecurity challenges of communal clashes, ethno religious violence, terrorism, activities of the Independent People of Biafra ( IPOB), Odua People’s Congress ( OPC), militancy and herdsmen/ farmers crisis, cattle rustling, and cult and gang war. Particularly, these are manifestations and purveyors of insecurity in Nigeria hinged on proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons ( SALW) in the country.
Regrettably, banditry and kidnapping have snowballed into hostage taking of school children, travelling passengers, traditional rulers, village heads, and ransacking of communities. The Kankara Government School students in Katsina and the Kagara Government School students in Niger state, as well as the Jangebe incident in Zamfara are about the most recent examples. And these bandits and kidnappers operate in different groups. Meanwhile media reports have it that some of this bandits and kidnappers are affiliated to Boko Haram and other Islamic militia groups operating in the northeast in current dimension.
What is gaining currency now is that kidnappers and bandits should be given amnesty by the Nigerian state. The controversial recommendation, being spearheaded by Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has further divided Nigerians as those opposed to it call to question the rational. Gumi, the main proponent of amnesty equated banditry and kidnapping to the pipeline vandalism and other violent activities of Niger Delta militants who struggled against oil pollu - tion and underdevelopment of host communities by both the Nigerian state and oil companies.
Adefolarin A. Olamilekan, Political Economist & Development Researcher.
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