The source said the policemen had told the victim to call his family to send N1 million for his bail, threatening to kill him and throw his corpse into Choba River should his family fail.
Beyond Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which has recorded several cases of kidnapping recently, there is heightened fear in no fewer than 19 states of the federation following a spike in the activities of kidnappers and their kingpins.
So worrisome is the situation that both residents and travellers passing through affected states are worried about their safety.
Loss of lives and payment of ransom are now more regular than ever.
Families and friends of kidnapped victims are left traumatised over the fate of their loved ones and also the agony of raising funds for ransom payments.
For the victims, who manage to make it alive, the experience is like dying and coming back to life.
Raising money and crowd-funding through WhatsApp groups for ransom has become a common occurrence in the country.
Sometimes, campaigns for money are done on social media platforms like X, formerly Twitter, and Facebook as witnessed recently in the case of Abuja-based Nabeeha Al-Kadriya, a 400-level biological science student, who was killed by kidnappers.
Those whose families cannot source for ransom are left to die in the hands of terrorists, who murder their victims even after collecting money, sometimes.
Out of every 10 Nigerian, it is either five know someone who had been kidnapped or must have met somebody who knows a kidnap victim.
It is now an epidemic that threatens a population of over 200 million people.
Even babies are not spared in this daily madness.
Eight days ago, a baby and her mother were abducted in Kaduna by bandits, who killed her dad, a school principal, for putting up resistance.
N1.55 trillion
This is despite huge budgetary allocation to defence in recent years.
Last year, the budgeted expenditure for defence was N1.55 trillion, which was among the highest sectorally.
In the 2024 budget, defence and security got 3.25 trillion, representing 12 per cent of the N27 trillion budget.
Though Nigeria has been battling kidnapping for more than a decade, the situation is now more troubling than ever as kidnappers have become more daring.
Until recently, most incidents took place on the highways and farms. Now, perpetrators are so emboldened to the extent of freely attacking residential areas.
Findings by Sunday Vanguard show that about N200 million have been paid as ransom in some states since January this year.
In September 2023, SBM Intelligence reported that between July 2022 and June 2023, more than N300 million’ ransom was paid across the country.
The security intelligence gathering firm stated that the figure represented six per cent of the N5 billion kidnappers demanded at the time.
Similarly, over N1 billion’ ransom has been demanded in some high-profile cases between December 2023 and now.
For example, those who abducted Nabeeha, her dad and five sisters had demanded N100 million per person, totaling N700 million.
Last week, the abductors of Zamfara-based Alhaji Said Abdulkadir and his three daughters demanded N100 million. They were kidnapped at their residence in Damba Quarters, Gusau.
Apart from these cases, Sunday Vanguard can authoritatively state that many, which are often unreported, abound across the country.
Meanwhile, findings across the states, including FCT, show that residents and even travelers on highways live in fear following the daring and unrestrained dimension kidnapping has assumed. Some states found to be experiencing a spike in some parts include Kaduna, Sokoto, Zamfara, Benue, Ebonyi, Imo, Anambra, Kogi, Abia, Kwara, Ondo, Katsina, Niger, Edo, Ondo, Oyo, Rivers, Osun and Ekiti
BENUE: Spread beyond Sankera axis
Incidents of kidnappings in Benue State have taken a worrisome dimension.
The cases are no more restricted to the volatile Sankera axis of the state made up of Katsina-Ala, Logo and Ukum Local Government Areas, LGAs; it has spread to Makurdi-Naka-Otukpo Road as well as the Otukpo-Ugbokolo-Otukpa-Orokam Road.
For the people of Sankera, kidnapping and other violent crimes have been a way of life right from the days of the dreaded late militia leader, Terwase Agwaza, also known as Gana.
After his demise, several armed gangs, including breakaway factions, sprang up and have continued to make life a living hell for the people whose communities are intermittently attacked by these gangs and rival groups of armed men who kill, injure and also abduct their victims including high profile individuals.