The Criminal Silence Over Kidnapped Victims

The rescue of over 900 women and girls from Boko Haram camps in Sambisa forest has brought to the fore the criminal silence that trailed their abduction by the terrorists. It was unimaginable that such a large number of women, girls and children were taken hostage by Boko Haram fighters without the world knowing about it.

Unlike the kidnap of over 200 Chibok schoolgirls in April last year that attracted global attention and condemnation, these victims currently being rescued had no one to speak about their abduction. No NGO or even the authorities at the local government level spoke about this sordid, inhuman abduction of the women and girls unlike the case of the kidnapped Chibok girls that a global campaign, #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG), was launched to draw the world’s attention to the incident and possibly rescue them.

Some of the husbands of these women may have been killed by Boko Haram who usually lined men up and shot them dead before taking away the victims’ wives and children. But some of the men who escaped such atrocities could have spoken up about the abduction of such huge number of women, girls and children. The criminal silence is symptomatic of what happens in Nigeria when things go terribly wrong like this large scale abduction of women and girls.

The fact that the Chibok girls are not among the girls that have already been rescued shows that a large number of women and girls were taken hostage even before and after the Chibok girls’ saga began without the world knowing about it.

This failure to speak up has embolden criminals such as kidnappers who are now having a field day, even in a city like Lagos which was hitherto a no go area for them. Because most victims of kidnappers don’t voice out their plight, there is an unsual upsurge in this form of crime in the cities.

Even when victims pay millions of naira as ransom, they prefer to keep silent, thus giving kidnappers the audacity to continue with their nefarious act. Kidnappers are being encouraged to remain in business because it is perceived as being more lucrative than armed robbery since victims cut deals with them by paying ransom quietly due to fear of being harmed after regaining their freedom. This should not be the case. Our attitude to whistle blowing should change for the better if we are to safeguard the lives of our citizens. The NGOs, relatives of victims and the authorities must lead this charge.