Searching for wealth in Nigeria, foreigners recount ordeals in kidnappers’ den
The rampant kidnapping of business owners and employees by criminal gangs has become a perennial quagmire repelling foreign investors and stifling the inflow of foreign investment amidst the economic hardship in Nigeria, VICTOR AYENI writes
The evening of June 14 was probably like every other one in the city of Lagos – bustling, energetic, and lively. But for a Lebanese family who resides in the highbrow part of the aquatic splendour, it was a day that climaxed in a terrible nightmare.
Three brothers, Youssef Fouani, Amtal Fouani, and Muhammed Fouani, the Managing Director of Fouani Nigeria Limited, were on their way home to Banana Island when their boat was intercepted on the waterway by a group of kidnappers.
At the end of the raid, five persons – including the boat driver and his assistant – were whisked away by the assailants who were obviously on their trail.
Although several reports said the abducted brothers were commuting by a boat from Apapa to Victoria Island around Falomo Bridge when the incident occurred, the state government said the boat was heading towards Ikorodu on that fateful evening.
Given Fouani Nigeria Limited’s longstanding role as a distributor of electronics such as LG, Hisense, and Maxi products in the country since 2001, the report of the kidnapping sparked concerns about the safety of the state inland waterways, particularly for business-class citizens.
The kidnappers reportedly contacted the victims’ families and allegedly demanded a $1.5 million ransom for their release, however, Sunday PUNCH could not independently verify if the families eventually paid the sum.
On the night of June 17, the police announced that the Fouani brothers and the other two individuals had been rescued from their abductors by the joint efforts of security operatives.
Confirming their release via a WhatsApp chat, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, stated that the feat was achieved by the Lagos marine police with support from the navy.
He said, “They were rescued late last night in Orugbo Iddo. Our marine police with the support of the Nigerian Navy brought them to shore. After that, our tactical team in the area took them home on Banana Island in the early hours of today (Tuesday).”
But contrary to claims by Hundeyin, allegations emerged on Tuesday, that the kidnapped victims regained their freedom when their kidnappers abandoned them.
A post by an X user, Epe Boy @masudayeola, claimed that the Fouani brothers were abandoned by the kidnappers at Ebute-Oriba village in the Epe Local Government Area of the state, hours before the police announced their rescue.
Sharing a video clip showing the victims in a palace, the eyewitness further alleged that local community members took the Lebanese and two other men to the Oloja of Epe, where they were handed over to the police around 2 am.
The post dated June 17 read, “Ben Hundeyin, PoliceNG, Sir, three kidnapped expatriates, and two indigenes were just dumped at Ebute-Oriba, Epe LG as of this evening. Please they are still there as of writing. This is a cry for rescue.”
In the pictures and videos shared by the X user, no police officers were in sight, contradicting the police’s claim of a successful rescue operation.
Reacting to the release of the foreign nationals, the state Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, vowed to arrest the perpetrators behind the kidnapping.
He said, “We are happy that they have been released, and this morning (Wednesday), I met with them, and we have useful information to ensure that the perpetrators of the act are not going to be spared.
“We know we have an idea of how far they have gone, and we will do everything to ensure that we do not give them a space in our city and state. I want to assure all our citizens and businesses, both national and international, that Lagos will continue to remain safe and peaceful.
“We will continue to make it attractive and homely. We will continue to ensure that businesses thrive. We will ensure people live and work in a conducive environment.”
‘A threat to businesses’
In Nigeria, sectors of the economy that pull Foreign Direct Investment include oil and gas, power, infrastructure (transports, ports, airports etc.), services, consumer products, and agriculture
The Fouani incident which occurred in Lagos – the economic heartbeat of the country which pulsates with opportunities for investors – hit at the level of confidence exhibited by several business owners.
In his reaction, the Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, expressed the concerns of the association about the safety and well-being of its members and expressed its plan to “collaborate with authorities to address security challenges facing the operators in the manufacturing sector in particular and the nation in general.”
Calling on the government to tackle the rising cases of kidnapping and insecurity across the country, Ajayi-Kadir said the Fouani incident “poses a significant threat to the business community and overall economic development of Nigeria.”
He further stated that if the trend was not checked, it, “will erode investor confidence in the economy and further jeopardise the efforts of the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at repositioning the economy for growth.”
In May, a similar incident took place on the ever-busy Lagos-Ibadan highway, where three Indian nationals were kidnapped and held captive for three days.
Our correspondent learned that about 16 of these Indians were working with a company near the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway and were heading back to their Pentagon Estate home at about 7 pm when a group of gunmen suspected to be kidnappers emerged from the bush.
On May 7, personnel from the Ogun State Police Command neutralised two kidnappers said to be causing havoc on the Sagamu-Ijebu Ode-Benin Expressway during a rescue mission.
The police said it secured the release of three abducted Indians and recovered N7.9 million suspected to be part of the ransom collected from victims.
“The anti-kidnapping section of the command in concert with police formations in the axis and other local security agents swung into action by combing the area and engaged the men involved in the kidnapping in a fierce gun battle along the Benin-Sagamu axis along Papa Alando. In the course of the action, some of the six kidnappers were demobilised,” the state Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu stated.
About 320 kilometres away from Ogun State, in Kwara State, a Chinese national, PengChao Zhang, was also abducted by a six-man armed gang while he was lodged in a guest house on March 10.
The state PPRO, Toun Ejire-Adeyemi noted that the police in collaboration with a vigilance group “executed a series of strategic searches and investigations that led to the safe rescue of the victim in the early hours of March 19, 2024.”
In a similar twist of events, on March 7, a Chinese national was kidnapped by gunmen who killed his security escort at Obangede in Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Kidnapping raising anxieties
Findings by Sunday PUNCH indicated that most cases of kidnappings across the country are financially motivated and conducted by criminal groups of varying levels of sophistication.
Some of the militant or extremist groups who orchestrate mass or long-term abductions may be ideologically or financially motivated.
However, it was gathered that victims of ideologically motivated kidnappings face a higher threat of death and may experience longer captivity times.
Other nefarious operations are carried out by criminal gangs that operate within urban centres to achieve short-term extortion and their attacks could be targeted or random.
Although many kidnapping incidents within the country are usually resolved without harm to the victims through the payment of a ransom, other victims are subjected to violence or the threat of violence to expedite a ransom payment.
Interestingly, according to Nigeria’s Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2013, families and friends of kidnap victims could face up to 15 years imprisonment for paying to free loved ones. This, Nigerian lawmakers believe, will discourage kidnapping and abductions for ransom.
In some cases, kidnapped victims have lost their lives while in custody or during rescue efforts by security operatives. Conversely, security operatives have also lost their lives or sustained bodily harm while trying to rescue abducted persons.
According to data sourced from the National Security Tracker, an initiative of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, about 4,243 people in the country were kidnapped in 2023.
Similarly, a 2024 report by SBM Intelligence indicated that Nigeria has witnessed at least 735 mass abductions with 15,398 people abducted since 2019.
According to the report titled “Mass Abductions: The Catastrophe of Nigeria’s Kidnap Epidemic,” this year alone has seen at least 68 mass abductions, averaging about one per day, with a victim count exceeding the entire years of 2019 and 2020 combined.
In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, a mental health expert, Dr Bright Oris-Ohwerhi, noted that kidnapping negatively impacts the mental and psychological state of foreign nationals who fall victim.
He explained, “Irrespective of whoever is perpetrating the act of kidnapping, what it can do psychologically to a person is create anxiety in that person. Now, one of that anxiety can present as what we call the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
“When someone lives in that perpetual state where their flight or fight hormone (adrenalin), is constantly being pumped or oozing out because the person feels threatened, so when kidnapping happens, that is what is pulled out from the person.
“The person is either afraid to fight or run. Now imagine living in the perpetual state of being afraid; that is what kidnapping triggers in people whether it’s perpetrated by common criminals or by police officers.
“And it is worse for foreigners because apart from the culture shock, they are in a place where they have no real familiarity with, so that is even double because it impacts their view of that entire society. I have personally been a victim of kidnapping by the Nigerian police and I know what it did to me because it took a long time before I was able to look at them differently and even now I still have my reservations about them.”
Sunday PUNCH gathered that foreign nationals as well as high-profile Nigerians are frequently targeted particularly in states like Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, and Cross River, where militant groups have employed abduction as a means of raising money for their insurgent activities and as a political tool.
In the North, many western hostages have also been taken by Islamist insurgent groups in addition to kidnappings perpetrated by Boko Haram.
A report by the United States-based security consulting firm, Constellis, stated that Nigeria is among the top 10 countries worldwide for kidnapping foreign nationals for ransom.
Control Risks, a global risk consultancy, also stated that Nigeria has the highest rate of kidnapping in Africa and most of these kidnaps fall into the category of targeted business and diplomatic personalities.
Various armed groups in the Niger Delta have resorted to kidnapping foreign employees of oil companies, demanding millions of dollars in ransom for the release of hundreds of oil workers, including personnel from Shell, Saipem, and Chevron.
In December 2023, gunmen reportedly ambushed a convoy of Daewoo workers along the Ahoada/Abua East-West axis in Rivers State, killing soldiers and allegedly kidnapping two expatriates of the company.
The acting Deputy Director 6, Division Army Public Relations, Major Jonah Danjuma described the attacked as “suspected militants,” adding that “efforts are ongoing to ensure that the unaccounted oil workers were found.”
On July 14, 2022, two foreign nationals were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen near Ndoki Street in Port Harcourt. This development was confirmed by the police who launched an operation to free the victims.
In April 2021, two Chinese expatriates, Zhao Juan, and Wen, were abducted at a mining site located at Okepa/Itikan village in Ifewara, Osun State. According to the police, “Two private guards attached to the site” were also shot.
This incident occurred barely two months after three Chinese expatriates in the Ifewara area of the state were kidnapped and their police guard was killed.
In a similar sequence, a Swiss expatriate, Andred Beita, was killed by gunmen in a failed kidnapping attempt along Ibese-Itori Road in Ogun State.
A tally made by our correspondent showed that in 2020 alone, at least 18 foreigners, mostly company employees, were kidnapped and hostage in Lagos, Oyo, Ekiti, Delta, Ebonyi, Cross River, and Niger states.
For instance, on March 1, 2020, two Russians and one Indian were kidnapped at Agge community in Delta State. Also, on March 29, 2020, Chinese nationals were seized by gunmen at Ihietutu community in Ebonyi State.
On July 22, 2020, four Chinese citizens, Kan Jinxi, Hujinchang, Jiang Jijun, and Change Qing, were kidnapped by gunmen who invaded a construction company in Oban village, Cross River State.
The following month, the police confirmed the release of the four Chinese nationals. Although there were claims that the victims regained their freedom after paying a ransom of N22m, the state PPRO, Irene Ugbo said, “I am not aware of any payment of ransom for their release.”
On August 18, 2020, the police in Niger State said they had recovered the body of a male foreign national after suspected kidnappers attacked and whisked him away at Gunna in Rafi Local Government Area.
That same year, on December 9, two Indians were kidnapped at a pharmaceutical firm close to the toll gate along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Barely three days after this incident, on December 12, was a Lebanese national, Hassan Mills, also kidnapped at the entrance of Panorama Farm at Mekun, Oke Alaro, in Ibadan.
The state police spokesman at the time, Olugbenga Fadeyi, disclosed that a soldier and a civilian who attempted to rescue Mills were killed in the process. However, the Lebanese was later rescued by police operatives.
In July 2019, four Turkish nationals who are construction workers, were kidnapped by gunmen at a bar in Kwara State and held hostage by their abductors for about a week.
The foreigners were later said to be found in a bush after a rescue operation by security operatives. The BBC had reported that their abductors demanded a $1m ransom but the police argued that no money was paid and that they were released “unconditionally.”
Countries issue alerts to citizens
A report by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the foreign capital inflow into Nigeria in 2023 indicated that a diverse range of international investors contributed to the country’s economic growth.
Some of the countries where Nigeria received foreign capital last year included British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, China, South Africa, Netherlands, the US, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
Checks by our correspondents showed that several countries have issued foreign travel advice to their citizens visiting Nigeria to be wary of being potential targets of kidnapping rings.
On the official British government website, a travel advisory mentioned the Abuja-Kaduna highway, Enugu-Awka-Onitsha Expressway and “oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta region” as places with “high threats of kidnapping and other armed attacks.”
It further warns, “Possible targets for kidnap include British nationals of Nigerian origin visiting friends and relatives, and British nationals working for international corporations.”
On the website of the US Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria, a security alert dated January 23, 2023 it listed states that American citizens should avoid due to “crime, kidnapping, and maritime crime.”
Some of the states listed include, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Zamfara, Katsina, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, and Cross River. The report warned citizens, “Kidnapping for ransom occur frequently, often targeting dual national citizens who have returned to Nigeria for a visit, as well as US citizens with perceived wealth.”
In March last year, the Chinese Embassy in Lagos also stated that “terrorist organisations and kidnapper gangs (are) active in Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria and other areas waiting for opportunities to kidnap or launch attacks on Chinese citizens and enterprises in Kogi State.”
On its Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, the Singaporean government also advised its citizens presently in Nigeria to “remain vigilant, monitor the local news closely, and heed the instructions of the authorities.”
Kidnapping and declining FDI
An NBS report released in January showed that FDI in Nigeria fell by $470m in the past five years, noting that Nigeria finds it increasingly hard to attract investments.
Another report released by the NBS in October 2023 showed that foreign investment inflow into the country declined by $18.6bn in four years (2019 to 2022), with eight states failing to attract any form of foreign investment.
An earlier report by the NBS showed that the FDI inflow into Nigeria fell by 33 per cent in 2022 to stand at a measly $468.91 million, the lowest in nine years.
A financial analyst, Olujide Fadeyiye, in a chat with our correspondent, pointed out that insecurity, particularly kidnapping, harms foreign investment.
“Kidnapping will reduce the foreign ownership of firms. Insecurity generally creates a lack of confidence and it will deter foreign investors. For entrepreneurial activities to thrive and be sustainable, there is a need for a quality business environment and when there is a high rate of crime, kidnapping, terrorism etc., it will directly or indirectly erode the quality of the business environment.
“Before any investor will consider your country it will first do its findings to know if the country will be a safe place for its business and employees to succeed and when they see that today, a firm owner is kidnapped, tomorrow, another expatriate is kidnapped, then the next week, foreign workers are kidnapped, it gives out a bad signal,” Fadeyiye noted.
Expert proffer tech tools
On June 4, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, while delivering a lecture at an event organised by the TETFUND Centre of Excellence in Multidisciplinary Studies in Ibadan, Oyo State, said a full drone system will soon be established that would enable the police to detect criminals at crime scenes.
The IGP added that a special intervention squad would be established in all the states of the federation to tackle kidnapping, banditry and other forms of criminality.
He noted that the deployment of this squad in Abuja has led to the arrest of many kidnappers and anti-kidnapping units will be set up across states to focus on intelligence gathering.
In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, a tech and Artificial Intelligence expert, Dr Joseph Oche, highlighted some tools that could be used to tackle kidnapping.
He explained, “The use of real-time tracking apps which can be installed on smartphones or wearable devices, will provide authorities with instant updates on individuals’ whereabouts, helping to locate potential victims or suspicious activities.
“There could also be facial recognition systems in public spaces and transportation hubs. This can aid in identifying and tracking individuals involved in criminal activities, including potential kidnappers.
“The use of community-based alert systems can be used by residents to quickly report and share information about suspicious activities or individuals. This can be a mobile app or SMS-based platform that facilitates prompt communication between citizens and law enforcement using a central USSD code for all service providers.”
He added, “Security operatives can utilise encrypted communication channels and advanced radio systems. Secure communication networks can ensure that sensitive information remains confidential and prevent kidnappers from intercepting critical messages.
“They can also implement data analytics tools to analyse patterns and trends related to kidnapping incidents. By identifying common factors or locations, law enforcement can take proactive measures to prevent future occurrences.”
