RIFNOTE
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun Adegboruwa, has urged Nigerians to do all they can to protect themselves.
According to the senior lawyer, if it is necessary to pay ransom to kidnappers to secure the release of their family members from the grip of kidnappers, there should be no hesitation to do so as the government has proven to be unreliable.
“I don’t think we are in a country where anyone can rely on the government again to secure their protection. I encourage all Nigerians to do their best to stay alive. If it’s necessary to pay ransom to kidnappers to secure their family members and loved ones, they should go ahead and do that,” he told Rifnote.
Speaking on the legality of ransom payment, the rights activist said:”There was a time it was mooted by the National Assembly,under the last Assembly, when they were about to make a law to prohibit people from paying money to kidnappers as ransom, but within that National Assembly, members of the National Assembly were kidnapped and they had to mobilise money to release them. So, it defeated that law. But I don’t think the law is in existence,it is impracticable.”
Recall that following the reported sourcing of funds by some members of the public to pay the abductors of some persons in the Bwari Area Council of Abuja, Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, recently urged Nigerians to stop the payment of ransom to kidnappers and bandits. Badaru said payment of ransom would only encourage the criminals to make more demands. He added that raising funds to pay the ransom was an illegal act and an action that would further encourage the perpetrators in their nefarious acts.
