According to the report, those who perpetrated the heinous crime numbering about 30 were all dressed in military uniforms and armed to the teeth. They shot sporadically and seeing them in the military attires, no one would have imagined that they were kidnappers. Even when later they came out of the forest to collect the ransom demanded, they were still in their military attires. The long and short of the story is that the insect devouring the Nigerian leaf actually seems to live on it.
Except there are proofs that another group of soldiers has infiltrated the Nigerian army, there appears to be growing evidences that the Nigeria military is complicit and should be held responsible for the whole issue of abduction and kidnapping in the land. As a matter of urgency, it is time their leadership came out to explain to Nigerians what is really happening and why kidnappers are dressed in military uniforms.
Are those criminals in army uniforms part of the Nigerian army or dissident soldiers from another land? The situation is now so scary that apart from the fact that no one is safe, those who were unable to source for the ransom demanded are being shot dead and the report included the fact that so many decomposing human bodies litter the forest; and the victims are apparently those who couldn’t pay the ransom at the specific time given them.
The Nigerian government should come out to explain to the whole nation what exactly is wrong that Nigerians can no longer move about freely without the fear of being kidnapped. Why is Nigeria now in such a mess that it appears nobody is in control? There are just too many unanswered questions.
Jide Oyewusi, coordinator of Ethics Watch International, Lagos.
