The Terror in Aba

Nigerians living in the South East are daily inundated with terrible news of armed robbery, kidnapping and brigandage along the Port Harcourt-Aba Express road and within Aba township itself. It is very frightening the manner and frequency of these criminal activities. Not least the fact that these criminals almost certainly are in military or police uniforms. They set up road blocks to deceive the public into believing that they are security men on 'stop and search'. On the said Aba road, hardly a day passes without these criminals running berserk killing and maiming. The police and the army should be very concerned that criminals are impersonating them to commit heinous crimes.

The situation is so dire that no right thinking person should set foot in Aba if he really loves his or her life. I pity those who live there. Robbers routinely write letters to banks informing them of their intending visit and actually keep the appointment! We hear that the police in Abia state are generally reluctant  to respond to the impending invasion even when they are informed in advance. This leaves the citizens helpless and powerless against the rampaging thieves and robbers. The daily carnage as a result is better imagined. All manner of kidnappings are daily fare in Aba, so also are robberies and even rape. The sad part is that most times the robberies and kidnappings happen right under the noses of policemen busy collecting N20 'toll' from hapless motorists. The other day my niece and her husband were robbed along that road within a proximate distance from a police check point. They were fortunate to be alive to tell the story because they were nearly abducted if not for an argument that arose between the robbers.

What really is happening in Aba? Why is the government so insensitive to the situation? And why is the police also inept in arresting the murderous trend? Is Aba steadily sliding into anarchy? As an important commercial hub, does it not fall within the responsibilities of the state government to act proactively to confront the criminals strangulating the city?  How many more lives must be lost before appropriate actions are taken? What will it take for instance for the police to constantly patrol the entire highway from Port Harcourt to Aba to vet the numerous checkpoints along the route? How is it that the police does not have intelligence on criminals operating along the highway? Rumours are rife that the criminals holding Aba hostage are well known socialites and even traditional rulers.

It is very unfortunate that kidnapping has become big business in Aba. It is now an official item to be included in the traders ware or 'market' as they call it. How sad and bestial. Even students of higher institutions are not left out. They have been implicated in several cases of kidnappings and ransom takings. Now, everybody is at the risk of being kidnapped and there are no boudaries. They kidnap drivers as they kidnap pastors, they kidnap labourers as they kidnap children. Just about every and anybody can be kidnapped. The physical and mental torture to which kidnappers subject their victims is better imagined. We have heard tales of  the cruelty of these kidnappers and it beggars belief the utterly sadist methods employed by them to extract maximum ransom. We have heard tales about how victims are tied to trees in the open bush for days on end, under rain or shine, exposed to the elements, insects, snakes and other dangerous animals. To add to the misery of the hapless victim, there is the constant beatings and taunting. How wicked! How sad! A manifest case of man's inhumanity to man, an Orwellian conundrum depicting how low we have sunk as a nation in 50 years! And now, as if to commemorate our 50th independence, a Nigerian syndicate has managed to 'export' kidnapping to Malaysia. This will further dent our image in the comity of nations inspite of Dora Akunyili's tepid efforts at burnishing it.

That the menace of kidnapping is continuing unabated into the forth coming elections in 2011 presents a very frightful prospect. State governments nationwide (yes, it has become a national issue, witness the kidnappings in Abuja and Kaduna) should urgently consider enacting stiff laws to check this horrendous trend. I believe that this, among other measures such as creating job opportunities for our teeming idle youths, the provision of social infrastructure for the survival of  informal and small scale businesses will go a long way to stop this cankerworm from spreading any further.  May God help us!