The Former Director of the Department of State Service (DSS), Mr. Dennis Amachree, has called on the federal government to do everything possible to stop ransom payment to kidnappers, saying the decision would be the solution to the nefarious activities of making money through kidnapping by bandits and others.
Amachree, who made the call during ARISE News Channel Morning Show programme yesterday, said that bandits and others have found kidnapping very lucrative because they are paid ransom, but this would stop if the federal government discouraged ransom payment and stopped negotiating with bandits when they kidnap persons.
He said that many bandits and terrorist had engaged in the illicit business because firm actions had not been taken to stop kidnapping, adding that when decisive actions are taken by stopping ransom payment, kidnapping would come to an end in Nigeria.
He said that bandits and others who engage in kidnapping are largely located in the North-west and North-central, but insurgents like Boko Haram, who also engaged in kidnaping stay in the North-east, noting that those are guided by different ideologies, including the condemnation of education.
“Stopping the payment of ransom will end kidnapping by bandits. The federal government is taking that stand now.”
“Insurgents that operate in North East are Boko Haram but in the Middle Belt and North West, kidnapping for ransom is the main objective; although the bandits may have affiliation with Boko Haram. However, ideologies of the bandits and terrorists could be different.
“Bandits came into Nigeria and want to make moneys for themselves. But insurgents don’t believe in education and have stopped 5,000 schools from resumption in Kaduna,” he said.
Amachree, who spoke on the release of one of the kidnapped Chibok girls after seven years, noted that Boko Haram might have changed their ideology after Shakeu’s death, adding that the terrorist are trying to win the trust of the people who live in the areas they have conquered.
He recalled that Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) distributed Ramadan packages and cash during Sallah to win the mind of the people of the area they conquered and urged the federal government and the Nigerian army to engage in similar humanitarian activities and review their approach to the war against insurgency in the North East; although ISWAP collect taxes and provide water to the people in the territories under their control.
Speaking on the travails of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari and the allegation against him by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation in the case relating to Hushpuppi, who has been in detention over alleged fraudulent activities in the US, Amachree said Kyari did not appreciate the pedestal he was operating and he forgot himself as if he did not know the organisation he was operating in.
He said that he may not be extradited as requested by FBI, adding that the House of Representatives might withdraw the honour given him if Kyari was eventually found guilty by the panel set up to investigate him.
“It is piteous. Panel has been set up to investigate him. Being a top intelligent officer he should know better. He talked too much and should not have said anything but he was defending himself. Ideally nobody should have heard from him.
“I don’t want to think he will be extradited. It is true that FBI has extra territorial powers to arrest anybody that has committed a crime against US laws. United States and Nigeria have good relationship. The way it is done is that if any law officer is suspected to be involved crime, a panel will be set up to investigate him. If found guilty he will be dismissed. Then FBI will go for him. It is at that point that he could be extradited. But if he is still an officer he will not be extradited,” Amachree explained.
He said that the judge in the US Court in California that is seeking for 10 days detention of Abba Kyari may not know that Kyari was not staying in the US; that he is in another country, adding that there must be a court process that must find the person guilty before he could be extradited.
“This is a learning point for even officers at this time. There is no particular law among security services against the use of social media. As investigators, one of the veritable tools they use is social media. They first go to the suspect’s account to know the kind of person he is. Many people show ostentation on social media. For a law officer who is investigating kidnapping and others, he has set himself up for further investigation.
“I suggest that in Nigeria investigative processes should be reviewed properly. You don’t put people under duress. FBI has done their jobs well by carrying out investigation before arresting the suspect. But in Nigerian police will arrest first before investigation. Why are you in a hurry? Beyond Abba Kyari, there should be serious reform in the investigation area of the police. There is already trust deficit between the police and the citizens,” Amachree observed.
