Abducted Abuja Girls: Reno Omokri Kicks as Kidnappers ‘Raise Ransom to N700m’

• Rising insecurity, kidnapping, and incessant attacks on residents by bandits have been observed in the FCT, Abuja, with some young girls recently kidnapped
• Legit.ng reports that over the last few years, millions of naira have been paid to non-state actors as ransom
• Reno Omokri commented on ransom payment and asked the FG to fund the country's military better, instead of citizens enriching criminals

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9-year-experience covering security matters

FCT, Abuja - Reno Omokri, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has said paying ransom to bandits means "they are remarkably better funded than the Nigerian Army".

Omokri in a tweet urged Nigerian authorities to prioritise funding the military properly to tackle the scourge of kidnap-for-ransom.

'Increase military spending', Omokri to FG

Read also

Why Nigerians should stop paying ransom to kidnappers, defence minister speaks

The diaspora-based PDP chieftain asserted that "by paying ransoms, we are even tempting our underfunded military to consider a career change."

His tweet reads on Sunday, January 14:

"By virtue of the ransoms paid to bandits in Northern Nigeria, they are remarkably better funded than the Nigerian Army and other security forces. Perhaps if we gather the money we have been paying bandits and instead use it to fund the military, banditry and kidnapping would have been eviscerated by now. In fact, by paying ransoms, we are even tempting our underfunded military to consider a career change. When crime pays, criminality grows."

Legit.ng reports that Omokri's comment comes amid reports that kidnappers killed residents of the federal capital territory (FCT) and raised the ransom being demanded from N100 million to N700 million.

Read also

Ibadan explosion: Tinubu’s govt told to immediately cancel all legal mining permits

Speaking to Legit.ng on Nigeria's worsening kidnap-for-ransom scourge, Timothy Avele, a security expert, said the desperation of families of kidnap victims causes acceding to kidnappers' illegal requests.

He said:

"It's a delicate matter. Naturally, relatives want to get their loved ones back alive at any cost. The security agencies know what to do to end all this within two weeks."

Shehu Sani identifies cause of insecurity

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Shehu Sani, a former senator from Kaduna, said the deterioration of security in parts of Abuja is a direct result of the security situation in the states around the CT.

Sani, a PDP chieftain, asserted that Abuja cannot be immune "as long as its neighbours are infected".

Atiku reacts as kidnappers kill lady

Legit.ng also reported that Atiku Abubakar, the flagbearer of the PDP in the 2023 presidential election, reacted to Najeeba Al-Kadriyar's murder.

Read also

“Nigeria gradually becoming a war ground”: Shehu Sani reacts as bandits kill immigration officers in Kebbi

Najeeba was a 400-level biological science student at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.

Source: Legit.ng