There appears to be a resurgence of abductions in the Niger Delta, and last week a man was killed in Abuja in a failed kidnapping attempt. Nigeria Politics & Security highlights how kidnappings are linked to national politics, as well as plummeting oil prices. The upsurge has led to a reaction from the military who have attacked militant camps.
The resurgence in high profile kidnapping claimed a victim on 8 September when an Israeli construction worker, Nir Rozmarin, was killed in an attempted kidnap in Abuja. Rozmarin was said to have been fatally shot when four men attempted to kidnap him from a construction site. His guard was injured in the attack but an Israeli co-worker was unharmed; the gunmen escaped. The shock is that this attempted kidnap took place in Abuja, far from the Niger Delta and the South East where incidences of kidnapping have increased in recent weeks (see Nigeria Politics & Security – 07.09.15). The security agencies are yet to make a statement on the rising tide of kidnappings across the country.
In the Niger Delta, cases of high profile kidnappings continued when the special adviser to the Bayelsa governor on political matters, Fyneman Wilson was abducted on 9 September. In the South East, a medical doctor, Johnson Obuna, is also reported have been abducted on 10 September in Ebonyi State. Most people abducted, are usually released after a ransom is paid though no one ever admits having paid a ransom. On 12 September, Donu Kogbara, a popular columnist with Vanguard Newspapers who had been abducted, was released after two weeks in captivity.
Narrating her experience, Kogbara said that she was kept blindfolded somewhere in the creeks of the Niger Delta. She also said that the men who kidnapped her complained about being used and then dumped by politicians. They lamented Jonathan’s defeat, though they admitted that the Niger Delta had not received any special benefits under the previous government.
Clearly, there is a level of dissatisfaction in the creeks over Jonathan’s defeat at the polls. This has been compounded by the fact that the drop in crude oil prices has made oil bunkering less lucrative, forcing many former militants to look for alternative means of survival. The most likely impact is an increase in kidnapping and piracy in the Niger Delta and the Gulf of Guinea.
The military is becoming concerned by the rising level of militant activities in the Niger Delta. This concern is said to have led to a raid on some militant camps in Delta State on 5 and 6 September, which resulted in a 30 minute gun battle with the militants, the death of three militants and seizure of ammunition from the camps. Speaking to the media on 11 September, Major General Alani Okunola, commander of Operation Pulo Shield – the name for the combat operations against militancy in the Niger Delta, said that the raid led to the discovery of sophisticated weapons including: a medium sized machine gun, and AK47 machine guns, among others. The leader of the militants is said to have escaped with gunshot wounds, while some of the group were arrested.
