Kidnappers get victims through information on social media – Don

The Dean, Faculty of Social Science, Bowen University, Iwo, Osun state, Prof. John Ayoade, has warned social media users to be wary of the personal information posted on the social media saying such could be exploited by kidnappers to get their targets.
Ayoade who delivered a paper  on “The Challenge of Peace and Security in Times of Economic Recession: The Nigerian Experienc lamented that Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp and email have become sources of required information and those who are unwary expose themselves.
He stated this at a workshop organised by the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, and African Peace building Network of the Social Science Research Council, New York on Saturday.
In his comment, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kayode Soremekun, said the topic was apt considering rising cases of conflicts in the world, especially Africa.
Ayoade said, “The qualification for kidnapping is the ability to pay huge ransom. Information is required for a successful operation and the recent communication explosion has aided the nefarious act.”
While listing Militancy in the Niger Delta, kidnapping, agitation for secession and Boko Haram terrorism as some of the products of bad governance, poverty and corruption in the country, he called on the Federal Government to tackle the social ills without further delay.
“While the militants fight for rights, justice and equity, Maitatsine and Boko Haram advanced a sectarian position. It was clear in the case of Boko Haram that the goal was territorial and religion was a camouflage for territorial ambition.
“Boko Haram argues that western education was a sin without proposing a viable alternative. Its tactics and strategy also contains elements of weakness. It bombed churches and mosques thus violating islamic laws that make non-combatants immune from attack and protect Muslims from attacks by fellow Muslims.”
Ayoade stressed that the reaction of the Niger Delta militants from isaac Boro to date and the agitation for secession by the Independent People of Biafra threatened the survival of the Nigerian state.
“All of these insurrections take advantage of the domestic weakness of the state. The state has a compulsory hold on citizens and when that hold loosens by acts of commission or omission, citizens who have reasons, genuine or otherwise, resort to self help. It is the natural opportunistic moment.
“The Niger Delta crisis is a product of illogical neglect resulting in on-going illogicality of demands. Curiously the ancient Nigerian Mineral Act allocates the ownership of all minerals on land and below to the government. The law is an example of the greed of modern state.”
Ayoade, however, cautioned agitators to shun violence and pursue their goals through persuasion and due process.
“The reality of modern statehood is that bad news must still be obeyed until those laws are changed. Violation of a bad law is an offence just as the violation of a good law. Bad laws are either changed by persuasion and due process or by violent means outside the realm of law. Whenever the second option is adopted, the law will take its toll because it is a challenge to the sovereignty of the state.”
Commending the federal government on the victory gained so far against Boko Haram, the Don, who cautioned that insurgencies “last long,” called for sustained efforts.
“By the nature of insurgencies which have no central command, every fighter tends to become a general still fighting on. Chinese Communists fought for 28 years, Vietnamese Communists for 30 years and Sandinistas for 18 years. So it is not yet uhuru from Boko Haram,” he added.