Socio-Economic Implication of Kidnapping and Hostage Taking in Southern Nigeria

This paper examines the phenomenon of kidnapping and hostage taking in Southern Nigeria and its socio-economic implications. The paper posits that kidnapping and hostage taking has become ubiquitous in Nigeria, however more prevalent in the South-South and South-East part of the country. Inefficient and ineffective strategy being adopted by the security agents and policy inconsistencies of the government has led to a security gap which the culprits are taking advantage of in perfecting their crime. This has resulted to a security challenge to the country and has caused the economy to dwindle. The paper utilized secondary data and was anchored on functionalist theory. Amongst other factors the paper argues that the issue of kidnapping and hostage taking has been on the increase due to leadership failure, unemployment, poverty and corruption among security agencies. The study therefore recommends that government at all levels should make policies that will attract both local and foreign investors which will create employment opportunities for the youths especially the vulnerable ones, also there is need to review the current strategy of dealing with the issue of kidnapping and hostage taking in Nigeria. In particular, there is the need to explore the extant laws and the extent to which they are being enforced with a view to establishing their efficacy.

Keywords: Hostage taking, Kidnapping for ransom, Kidnapping, Socio-economic.