Faith Osas ODIASE

Kidnapping has gained ascendancy in Nigeria over the last decade. Despite the government’s effort to nip this daunting societal menace in the bud, it has graduated and developed more terrifying modus operandi. One thing is certain; kidnapping has become a terrorist act in the country, spanning from the Niger Delta militants in Southern Nigeria to that of the Boko Haram insurgents in the Northern part of the country. The Chibok and Dapchi girls’ incident which brought the Nigerian State to the global arena cannot be easily forgotten. A malady previously unknown to the people has rapidly become domesticated. Kidnapping is undeniably, a crime of ancient origin. As persistent and resurgent as this crime is however, governments of nations of the world have continually devised means of curbing the crime or at least reducing its occurrence to the barest minimum through the instrumentality of the law. The business of securing lives and properties in the State is a paramount one to any government hence, structures must be put in place and efforts made in perpetuity to ensure this is guaranteed the citizens. Nigeria as a country has witnessed a colossal increase in kidnapping in recent years. Despite the various laws enacted and implemented against such offence. The law acting as an instrument of social control and as the last hope of the common man has stepped up to address this anomaly. The law institutions confronted with the saddening reality that the penalty for kidnapping was disproportionate and inadequate, had to toughen the anti- kidnapping laws, in some cases as a capital offence to act as a possible deterrent. However, the recurring increment in the spate of kidnapping (even of law officers) in the face of the current legal regime leave one in doubt if the current laws are well designed to tackle this daunting menace.