The Kidnappers

Book excerpt: Kidnapping is a crime that was alien to Nigeria until recently when the youths of the oil-rich Niger Delta Region began to use it as a political weapon to register agitation against economic marginalization by the Federal Government. It was subsequently hijacked and downgraded by criminals in other parts of the Country who used it as an easy tool for illegal acquisition of wealth. The kidnappers, therefore, x-rays the origin of the crime, its impact on Nigerian polity and the measures the Federal Government adopted to curb it. This is a story that points an accusing finger on the Society as the major cause of numerous crimes (including kidnapping) perpetrated by man against humanity. To instil godliness in a people, the Society must, therefore, be restructured aright.