by Bosun Awoniyi
LAGOS, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian government has vowed to beef up fight against abduction following a series of kidnapping cases recently reported across the country.
In a statement released in Abuja on Sunday, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the country's security forces to "do more" to end violence in the country. Buhari made the call after recent abduction and killing of a state chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the central state of Nasarawa.
Philip Shekwo, APC's state chairman in Nasarawa, was abducted by gunmen from his residence in Lafia, the state capital on Saturday, and his lifeless body was found on Sunday in the neighborhood, according to local police on Sunday.
The incident was included in a series of recently reported cases of kidnapping across the West African nation.
Nigerian police on Friday confirmed 9 police officers kidnapped earlier this month in Katsina state have been rescued unhurt following "a covert operation". The officers were on official deployment and travelling in a commercial bus on their way from the capital of the northeastern state of Borno to the capital of the northwestern state of Zamfara, when the gunmen attacked their bus and abducted them.
Nine travelers were kidnapped on November 15 from their 18-seater bus along a highway in Kaduna state by gunmen, and later rescued by Nigerian troops after an operation.
According to local media, gunmen suspected to be kidnappers on Monday morning attacked the family house of the Minister of Agriculture Sabo Nanono in Kano state and took away his brother.
Frank Mba, national police spokesperson, said in a statement reaching Xinhua on Tuesday that investigation into the incident of Shekwo is ongoing, while noting the Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamuhas assured Nigerians of their safety on major roads and highways during and after the festive season.
Charles Sawyer, a security analyst based in Lagos, told Xinhua on Tuesday he "wasn't surprised by the surge in hoodlums activity", saying there has been a spike in violent crimes since the attacks on the police stations during the recent #EndSARS protests against police brutality across the country.
Nigerian officials said the protests have been "hijacked" by people who resorted to violence.
Security experts believed the police are often mismatched for the robbers due to their type of ammunition, a situation that equally tends to have emboldened the latter.
Pius I. Oiwoh, chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association(NBA) in southern Edo state decried on Monday the high rate of criminality in the state in recent times and the inability of the police to contain the scourge.
Oiwoh told reporters in Benin city, the state capital, that he was worried over the increasing wave of violent crimes such as armed robbery and kidnapping in the state, and appealed to the government and police authorities to rise to their constitutional duties.
On his part, Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajaniamila told media recently the lingering insecurity in the country is the result of malfunctioning local government administration. Enditem
