9 Security Tips to Avoid Being Kidnapped by Bandits on Nigerian Highways
- Insecurity in Nigeria's biggest challenge in the last few months
- Governments at all levels have failed to address the issue which has resulted in attacks, abductions and killings
- Nigerians are now taking their own destinies into their hands by sharing security tips to avoid being victims
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As Nigeria continues to battle banditry and widespread kidnappings across the country's highways, citizens are advised to take extra caution when plying major expressways.
On a daily basis, citizens are forcefully abducted on the highways as armed bandits have practically taken over the forests.
Road travel which used to be fun in the past is now like a death trap, especially for those who can't afford air travel.
Legit.ng has stumbled on a series of security tips that could help road travellers in these perilous times.
Source: Getty Images
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They are:
1. Schedule your trip between 9 am to 4 pm. Don't leave too early and don't be caught in the late hours.
2. Remove titles from your phone contacts. Honourable, Alhaji, Chief, Inspector, and ranks in general.
3. While driving, focus on the road and ensure that every 5-7 minutes, there is traffic on the returning lane.
4. Don’t exceed 100km per hour; for timely judgement, look out for traps and to appreciate the terrain.
5. Don't use tinted sheets on your car. It passes a message to bandits and criminal elements that you are a uniformed man/woman.
6. Always have a spare tyre, plug and fuel pump in your car. Don't ignore this.
7. Even if you are not the one driving, put your phone away and keep your eyes on the road.
8. Moving in a convoy has proven not to intimidate criminal elements. Bandits took on an 8-car convoy along Kaduna-Abuja last December.
9. If you must stop to buy food or ease yourself. Take that break at a town or village.
Meanwhile, a data analyst and journalist, Rotimi Sankore has taken to his Twitter page to give reasons why Nigerian governments at all levels are failing to address the mounting insecurity in the country.
According to him, Nigeria is failing to address the problems due to:
1. Bandits and extremists have plenty of recruits
2. 100 million citizens are in extreme poverty
3. 60 million citizens are unable to read or write
4. 10 million to 13 million children are out of school
5. Unemployment is at 33%
In a related development, the British Minister for Africa, James Duddridge, has described Nigeria’s security situation as massively complex, stressing that no partnership would resolve the multiplicity of the country’s problems.
Duddridge made the comments while responding to questions from journalists attached to Nigeria's ministry of foreign affairs.
The British minister had visited his Nigerian counterpart, Geoffrey Onyeama on Tuesday, April 27 to discuss matters of interest between both countries when he was accosted by the reporters.
Source: Legit.ng
