Ngige is a kidnapper

Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), a leading human rights movement in Nigeria, no doubt, maintains strong presence in Anambra state. In fact, Anambra chapter of CLO it was which led the crusade for the incumbent Governor Peter Obi to regain his stolen mandate three years back through the law courts. In this interview with KlinReports, Alloysius Attah, CLO chairman in Anambra state, speaks on a number of issues, and, among other things, calls on Dr. Chris Ngige (the beneficiary of the 2003 mandate theft in the state) to give peace a chance in the state. (Pictures left show Attah; right, Ngige; down left, Gov. Obi)

What is CLO’s current rating of kidnaps in Anambra state?
The question should not be about the current rating of kidnaps, but the emphasis should be the causes of kidnaps and how to stem the ugly tide ravaging the image of the state. Yes, we cannot deny the fact that there have been incidents of kidnapping in the state but there is need to separate genuine cases of kidnappings from pseudo and stage managed ones.

And one of the reasons CLO will not categorically rate the incidents of kidnappings in the state is that the rating has become political. Like the other day, I read an interview of the once de facto illegal governor of the state. Just because he is desperate to foist himself on us again as governor of the state, he said that Anambra records incidents of kidnapping at least thrice in a week. This kind of statement was just a deliberate attempt to rubbish the efforts of the incumbent governor, but you and I know that the usurper who made this comment, contributed to the larger percentage of the various crimes we see in the state today.

So to answer your question, there are cases of kidnappings in the state but people with selfish motives blow it out of proportion.

What are you the possible causes of current kidnappings in the state?
Recall that Anambra CLO under my leadership organized a press conference on the 2nd week of December 2008 where we presented to the whole world the various faces/causes of kidnappings in the state and proffered solutions on the way out. That document has become a reference material for writers and researchers on the issue of kidnappings in the South East.

But that notwithstanding, we don’t need any art of clairvoyance to decipher that the major cause of current kidnappings in the state is all about 2010 elections in the state. Crude politicians, out of inordinate ambition, have vowed to destabilize the state so as to use it as a campaign strategy that the present governor, Mr. Peter Obi, is not in charge.

Remember the Mbadinuju and Ngige era where these characters in their self succession and self sustaining bids organized all manner of state sponsored violence against Anambra people.

The first character did it to impress it on us that without Bakassi Boys we cannot step out of our homes safely just for him to use the same boys to maim his political foes.

The second character stage-managed all forms of mayhem in the state and heaped the accusations on the door steps of his estranged political god fathers, now all of them have ganged up now to enthrone a culture of insecurity in the state to make sure they rubbish all efforts of the present government.

We call this kill and bury politics or politics of the graveyard and this should be condemned in its entirety.

Has government done enough in fighting crime?
In my own calculation, Anambra state government has done well in their effort in checkmating this crime. It is not the duty of the governor or the executives to apprehend criminals but the governor, by virtue of his position as the chief security officer of the state, is to provide an enabling environment for the law enforcement agents to perform their duties maximally.

The Peter Obi administration has provided various logistics support in vehicles, communication gadgets and so on to the police so as to aid their operations. Even after our press conference and letter to the governor on this issue of kidnappings in the state, he hearkened to our request by meeting with the heads of the police, army and state security in the state with a view to adopting a holistic method of crime control.

So, the government has tried but she can still do more because you don’t rest until you eliminate what is pursuing you.


Is CLO satisfied with police role in combating crime?
The answer is NO. It is unfortunate that Anambra state police command is still bereft of committed officers and men interested to rid the state of various crimes.

What we still grapple with here year in, year out, are policemen seeking for personal aggrandizement to the detriment of the citizens of the state.

Despite all the logistics earlier mentioned which Peter Obi government has provided for the police, things have degenerated to a ridiculous level where policemen even join families to negotiate ransom with kidnappers. A case in point is that of Mr. Michael Aguowo and his kidnapped Liberian wife. The Nibo, Awka south council area is still fresh in our memory.

Crime detection and prevention remain the nucleus of professional policing. I remember my childhood days when men of state CID dress in mufti and descend so low by playing with children in the village square while on a fact finding mission but alas, what we see in Anambra today is a commissioner of police that barricades himself from the people while his men extort and harass people on the road.

The real criminals are allowed to carry on in their evil ways while the innocent people bear the brunt of police rascality and unprofessional conduct. In fact, some pollutant viruses in our police command collude with criminals to kidnap people for ransom. The attitude of policemen has been one of our greatest headaches in the course of our activism in the state and we shall not relent until Anambra police command is reformed and repositioned for optimal performance.

Is it correct to say businessmen sponsor kidnaps in the state?
To get the answer correctly, it is not only businessmen that sponsor kidnappings in the state but politicians are behind it. What is happening in Nnewi is a pointer to the angle that businessmen sponsor kidnappers. Forming and arming of kidnappers to protect business interests and dealing with competitors in the same line of business no doubt thrive there but the political angle of kidnapping is the reigning method now.

These wicked politicians have gone a step further by infiltrating the rank of some journalists who are hired to write concocted stories about some incidents that never happened.

Imagine last weekend, an Awka based correspondent with a national daily known for his unhidden fraternity with Dr. Chris Ngige wrote a cooked up story with bold headline – “Businessmen Flee Onitsha as kidnappers Take over the Town”. The names mentioned in the story were fictitious while no other reporter in Onitsha recorded such an incident. This is a dangerous dimension and high display of irresponsible journalism. So like I said in our former report, the various faces of kidnapping in Anambra are kidnap for ransom, kidnap for politics, kidnap for pleasure, write about fake kidnap in exchange for some cash and so on.

Is CLO in support of death sentence for kidnappers as passed by Anambra House of Assembly?
How can we support such obnoxious legislation? The action of the state house of Assembly in passing the bill is not only despicable, draconian, and ill conceived but portrayed them as those that are out of tune with the present existential realities.

Various nations all over the world have abolished capital punishment in their criminal code only for the state assembly to wake up one day and join the bandwagon of some states in Nigeria that recently made kidnapping a capital offence.

But you still ask yourself, how many kidnappers have been apprehended in the state not to talk of their being convicted?

Kidnapping is a felony, punishable under the criminal code laws of the Federation of Nigeria from which the states copied theirs. Even though the lowest punishment stated for the crime is three years imprisonment or a maximum of life imprisonment, it is at the discretion of the presiding judge to hand out the adequate punishment. We don’t need capital punishment as a law in a state presently known for respect for human rights. So, we call on the governor to withhold his assent to the bill, else we shall resist any attempt to implement it.

Do you have any other thing you want the public to know?
We advise Dr. Chris Ngige to turn a new leaf instead of this crookedness, meddlesome attitude and outright desperation.

Most of the state-managed reports of kidnappings in the state can be allegedly traced to his doorstep. It will be better for him to come out openly and declare his intention to contest the governorship election in the state, follow the laid down rules instead of acting in pretentious languages and causing unnecessary distractions.