Shehu Sani, a former federal lawmaker, on Wednesday said that the “outrageous” cost of nomination and expression of interest forms for elective offices will “escalate” kidnap-for-ransom in Nigeria, Newsbreak reports.
Meanwhile, Sani didn’t state how.
Recall that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC’s) N100 million price for its presidential forms had triggered furious reactions from the public. This did not however stop many of the party’s presidential aspirants from purchasing the form.
The outrageous cost of party nomination form will encourage and escalate kidnappings for ransom in Nigeria.
— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) May 11, 2022
“The outrageous cost of party nomination form will encourage and escalate kidnappings for ransom in Nigeria,” Sani wrote on his verified Twitter handle.
Kidnapping in Nigeria
The Nigerian Senate in April passed a bill imposing jail terms of at least 15 years for paying a ransom to free someone who has been kidnapped, and made the crime of abduction punishable by death in cases where victims die.
Armed gangs operating mostly in northeastern and north-central states of Nigeria have for more than a decade spread terror through kidnappings for ransom, targeting students, villagers and motorists on highways.
They have also killed thousands of people.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has already classified the armed kidnapping gangs, known locally as “bandits”, as terrorists this year – but that has not stemmed the kidnappings, now almost a daily occurrence.
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