Online Media Chief, Mogaji Wole Arisekola has tasked President Bola Tinubu GCFR to immediately direct Service Chiefs, including Military Heads, Inspector General of Police, Director-Generals of Department of State Services, and National Intelligence Agency to refund N100m ransom paid to bandits back to the family of late Nabeeha Al-Kadriyah’s family.
Recall that Nabeeha and her sisters were abducted in their home with their father, early January 2024, and a N60 million ransom was demanded by the abductors to facilitate their release.
Their abductors had given a deadline for the payment of ransom, and failure of the family to meet their demand had led to the killing of Nabeeha.
After killing the victim, the bandits raised the ransom from N60 million to N100 million, threatening to kill the remaining sisters. However, the news went viral on Sunday that the girls, had regained their reedom and arrived at their Abuja residence late Saturday night.
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In a chat with some senior correspondents at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos on Sunday, the feasibly emotionally downcast Arisekola said:
“The story of late Nabeeha Al-Kadriyah really got me emotional, it’s so pathetic, very heart-rending and it has really put Nigeria in bad light from the global scene.
“Meanwhile at this grieving moment in the life of this family, it is my humble appeal that President Bola Tinubu should use his good offices to direct the Military Heads, IGP, DGs of DSS and NIA to refund the 100 million naira ransom that the bereaved family paid to the bandits, this will serve as a compensation for their losses, even as we all know that no amount of money is worth any human life, notwithstanding this recompense is very necessary and must be urgent.
“I say without any ambiguity that putting pressure on the security chiefs will end this endless killing. With the registration of NIMC, NIN, and BVS, there is no way anybody can transfer, and receive this huge amount of money without being caught.
“Nigerians passed through proper phone and sim card registration, but unfortunately what do we get? Bandits, kidnappers and other enablers of violent crimes are still having a field day with no arrest made to serve as deterrent.
“We are all aware that all bank accounts are linked to the NIN or Nigerian passport, so why is our security operatives having difficulty in nipping this crime in the bud and making Nigeria to have a breather?
“See, the Air Force was equipped with surveillance drones and helicopters. It’s nearly impossible to get away with a crime of this magnitude without being caught if our security agents have the intention and foresight of doing so.”
Arisekola who is the National Chairman of the Association of Online Media Practitioners in Nigeria, (AMPCON), also called on the President Tinubu to review and rejig the security architecture of the country in the wake of the recent abduction of Nigerians in the country.
He also threw his weight behind community policing which he said was currently already under consideration, noting however, that modalities for community policing must be well spelt out so that some “power drunk or “desperate” politicians would not abuse it.
He also advised the APC led government to deliver their campaign promises in the nick of time:
“My advise also goes to this visionary government to ensure that in the next four years, it should deliver on all its promises in a manner that reflects true changes to the livelihood of the people; it should also consistently propose, discuss and give approval to key strategies and high impact initiatives to stimulate economic growth and development,” he said.
Arisekola further said the current administration should continue to provide incentives aimed at attracting investments and creating jobs adding that such interventions will help to build human capital, capacity building and ultimately help to stem the tide of insecurity in the country in a significant way.
“The ruling All Progressives Congress as a party that is founded on the philosophy of social democracy, needs to expand programmes that touch the lives of people such as the social housing, social investment programme, access to public healthcare, access to public education and support to small scale industries,” he said.
In the spirit of patriotism Arisekola equally called for convergence of various stakeholders cutting across the private sector, developmental partners, security and industry experts to deliberate on the way forward for the country, noting however, that the convocation of such policy dialogue would “be wholly advisory and implementation will be left to the federal machinery of government” so as to make the renewed hope mantra of President Tinubu to be more accentuated and realistic.
