On Monday, Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s president, attended his first media presidential media chat with select journalists.

During this conversation, he fielded questions on the removal of fuel subsidy, Nigeria’s rising inflation, the tax reforms bill, security, the recent stampedes and other topics.

While answering a question raised on his allocation to security in the 2025 budget and the probing of the security chiefs by former president Muhammadu Buhari, Tinubu said that it was safer to travel on Nigerian roads since he became president.

He stated that while the roads might be bad, Nigerians could move from one city to another safely.

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“For today, I have confidence in the security architecture of this country. It is very, very unfortunate that, for two decades, we witnessed wanton killings. I remember when I jumped into the campaign, I had to stop the campaign to pay condolence visits to Maiduguri, Katsina, Kaduna and others,” Tinubu said.

“Today, you can travel these roads; before now it was impossible. It takes one incident to mess up an organised environment.

“You can not say the military was not prepared when the 9th Brigade Battalion was attacked. You can’t laugh at your nation because of that. The enemies, within and without, are watching what you are doing. You have to be prepared 100 per cent, 24 hours of the time, to make sure that people are safe.

“Today, that is not the story any longer. People can leave Kaduna and still go towards Kafancha by road. Well, the road may not be that smooth. I’m not saying it won’t. Gradually, we will get there.”

This comment by Tinubu has generated controversies in the wake of continued insecurity across the country.

EQ highlighted at least eight instances of road insecurity in the country under the president’s watch, negating his claim of safer roads in Nigeria.

NASARAWA ABDUCTION – 30 VICTIMS

On June 6, about 30 travellers were abducted on the Abuja-Nasarawa Expressway.

Rahman Nansel, the spokesperson of the Nasarawa Police Command, confirmed this incident but denied the number of victims even though he did not state the exact figures.

The victims were waylaid by the suspected kidnappers around Uke in Karu Local Government Area.

The abductors demanded 10 million each for the release of these victims. However, they were released after five days in captivity but it was unclear whether ransoms were paid.

BENUE ABDUCTION – 20 MEDICAL STUDENTS

On August 15, 20 medical students from the University of Jos and the University of Maiduguri were abducted in Otupko, Benue State. The abductors attacked their bus, which was on its way to Enugu State.

Following their kidnap, the abductors demanded a N50 million ransom. While no one could ascertain whether a ransom was paid, they regained their freedom after eight days in captivity.

Before their release, the abductors had allowed the students to share their locations so they could contact families and friends for the ransom payment.

EQ revealed how most abductions on the Otupko Road in Benue had taken place on Thursdays.

EKITI SCHOOL CHILDREN KIDNAP

Earlier in the year, on January 29, five schoolchildren of the Apostolic Faith Nursery and Primary School in Ekiti, three of their teachers and a driver were kidnapped.

Their bus was attacked and led into the bush along the Emure Ekiti Road, Ekiti State. The school bus was heading to Eporo Ekiti.

After their kidnap, the abductors contacted their relatives to place a demand of N10 million each on the victims.

Six days after their kidnap, a video of their release surfaced on the internet. But there was no proof of whether the amount demanded by the abductors was paid or not.

EKITI’S 18 TRAVELLERS KIDNAP

On Sunday night, 19 people including the driver of an 18-seater bus were kidnapped in Emure-Ile, Ondo State.

According to the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, Ado-Ekiti Motor Terminal Branch, who spoke with Channels TV, the victims were going to Ado-Ekiti from Onitsha.

The residents became aware of the abductions through the cries of children left behind by their parents and the abductors.

The abductors placed a demand of N30 million each on the 19 victims.

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ENUGU TRAVELLERS ABDUCTION

About 16 passengers heading to Abakaliki, the state capital of Ebonyi, were kidnapped on July 16 after their bus was intercepted by kidnappers at Amechi-Idodo on the Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway.

Daniel Ndukwe, spokesperson of the Enugu State Police, denied the report and said that only three people were unaccounted for.

Ndukwe said “they rescued 13 occupants of a Nissan commercial bus” but three other people ran into nearby bushes after their bus was attacked.

ZAMFARA CORPS MEMBERS KIDNAP

On August 17, 2023, eight graduates deployed for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) were abducted in Zamfara State on their way to report at their camp in Sokoto State.

The corps members not only missed the three weeks of their orientation programme but they were also held for more than 100 days by the kidnappers.

They were released in batches with the last set of abductees being held for as long as one year.

SPORTS JOURNALISTS’ ABDUCTION

In October, 11 journalists travelling from Lagos to Akwa-Ibom State to cover the Super Eagles’ Africa Cup of Nations match against Libya were abducted.

Their bus was accosted by the kidnappers at Iseke-Orlu Road, Ihiala, Anambra State.

While six of them have now been rescued, one of them was killed by the kidnappers. To date, nothing has been reported about the remaining victims.

NBS’ Crime Experienced and Security Perception Survey

Meanwhile, a report that has now been labelled “controversial” was recently published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) under the Crime Experienced and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) 2024.

This report revealed that there were 2,235,954 kidnapping incidents across Nigeria.

Also, more than N2 trillion was paid as ransom for kidnapping. The report stated that the abductions happened at different places ranging from work, school, while driving and travelling.

However, the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) said they were rejecting the report as “flawed, unfounded, and completely fabricated”. They also said it was politically motivated and does represent the reality of their group.
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