Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, has called on Nigerians who have paid ransom to kidnappers to take legal action against the Federal Government and demand reimbursement, arguing that the state failed in its primary duty to protect its citizens.
Speaking at the opening of the Legal Year of the Faculty of Law at Yakubu Gowon University, Abuja, Falana said the alarming rise in kidnapping incidents amounts to a violation of the government’s constitutional responsibility to secure lives, as provided for in both the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
He criticised what he termed a “class-based response” to abductions, noting that security agencies tend to act swiftly when influential individuals are involved, while ordinary Nigerians are left vulnerable. He argued that citizens seeking refunds through the courts would not only assert their rights but also compel the government to improve its security strategies.
Fresh figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) underscore the growing scale of the problem. According to the 2024 Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey, Nigerians paid a staggering N2.23 trillion in ransom between May 2023 and April 2024. The report also estimated that more than 2.2 million kidnapping incidents occurred during the period, with each victim paying an average of N2.7 million.
Security experts say the data reflects the rapid expansion of kidnapping into a lucrative criminal industry, calling for urgent and coordinated intervention to stem the crisis.
