Kidnappers make N750m monthly in Southeast – CD

Kidnapping has become a big business in the Southeast, with abductors making an average of N750 million monthly, the Campaign for Democracy (CD) has said.

The rights group therefore urged more actions from governors in the affected states.

According to  CD, the situation has made the region unsafe for industrialists and businessmen.

Chairman of CD in the Southeast, Dede Ujoh A. Uzoh, in a statement, said:

'It is very depressing that notwithstanding the huge amount of money the governors of the five Southeast states collect each month, they as the chief security officers, are unable to contain the upsurge of kidnapping.

'An average of five persons are kidnapped per month in each state of the zone and they pay between N30 million and N20 million each.

'This amounts to about N150 million per month from wealthy individuals in a state, thus, totalling N750 million per month from the five states.

'There has been this massive exodus of industrialists, businessmen and women from the zone due to activities of kidnappers,'' it said.

The statement added that the recent escalation of kidnapping is more rampant in major cities of Onitsha, Aba, Owerri, Awka, Umuahia, Enugu and Abakaliki.

'These are the cities where wealthiest people and their families live and carry out their businesses.

'This is making business and human security to collapse and the wealthy not free to move around within the zone due to fear of being kidnapped,'' it said.

The statement urged governors to help stop the present exodus of the wealthy people; which, if not checked within some months, the economy of the zone would crumble,'' it said.

'Efforts should be made to energise the Southeast Economic Summit to revive the moribund industries in the zone; taking a cue from the South-South.

'The revival of industries has become paramount so that workplaces would be created to contain youths that would likely join these bad eggs perpetrating these heinous crime,' the CD said.