A strange twist was infused into the current rage of kidnap crimes sweeping the country when on Friday, March 30th the Deputy Director, Public Relations of our hard-working State Security Services (SSS), Mrs Marilyn Ogar, in Abuja paraded seven young men dressed in a colourful Ankara prints uniforms popularly known as aso ebi. It is worn by people going out for parties or celebration.
Just looking at them, one is forced to wonder whether these suspected felons were apprehended on their way to a social party, or maybe they just decided to put on a show in defiance?
Those paraded included Ojo Ibrahim Ajibade, Lamidi Akinkunmi, Olasunkanmi Temitope, Nureni Lamidi, Siyanbade Olalekan, Jelili Adeleke and Saka Kassim. They were alleged to be part of a syndicate that lured one Mohammed Khamis, a United Arab Emirate (UAE) businessman with a fake business name, Finuche Investments, into Nigeria whereupon he was abducted and kept in captivity for 60 days at Aborigun in Ikoyi, a town in Osun State.
Even though they (mercifully) allowed Mr Khamis to go unharmed on March 19th 2012, the long arm of the law personified by the SSS caught up with the seven youth with the rest, the alleged masterminds, still at large.
The aso ebi kidnappers invented a new angle of luring foreigners to the country and keeping them hostage, obviously for ransom.
This crime of seizing foreigners forms part of a worrying departure from our cherished culture of deep respect and protection of visitors and foreigners in our midst.
The main danger in the fate that Mr Khamis suffered in the hands of the aso ebi kidnappers is that more and more foreigners are going to be less enthusiastic about exploiting business opportunities in Nigeria for fear of being similarly victimised.
What kind of image are these people painting for Nigeria's prospective foreign investors?
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