Nigeria don dey face mass kidnapping wahala again.
Three times in one week, gangs of armed men wey dey operate from forest for three different places for di north of di kontri bin kidnap hundreds of pipo.
First na on Wednesday 6 March wen we hear tori say, for one remote town for Borno State, suspected militants Islamists gbab women and pikin dem from IDP camps wen dem bin dey find firewood.
Na afta many days di news comot outside sake of say dem destroy di mobile phone masts for di area.
Den di next day, gunmen gbab more dan 280 pikin dem wey dey between di age of eight and 15, and some teachers from one school for Kaduna State and carry dem enta one nearby forest.
Tori be say di pipo wey run dis parole na militants from di al-Qaeda linked Ansaru group.
Gunmen bin strike again for di early hours of Saturday 9 March for Gada for Sokoto State. Dem kidnap students from dia school and also kidnap four women.
Recently di rate of dis kain kidnapping don drop. Dis kain kidnapping na im bin dey disturb Nigeria from April 2014, wen dem gbab almost 300 girls for Chibok.
Now e be like e dey happun again as di 10 year anniversary of di Chibok girls dey near.
Di mass kidnap from Kaduna na di biggest for school since 2021.
So why di kidnapping dey come again to put di most vulnerable Nigerian lives for danger?
E hard to point out di pattern from di coincidental timing of two unconnected incidents, but na reminder say di threat neva go away.
Di fact say dis one dey happun just before Ramadan fit get meaning.
Di pipo wey don dey kidnapped and freed bifor don tok about say na dem dey do cooking and oda small small work for di forest camps.
But las-las, kidnap for ransom na low-risk, high reward business.
Di pipo wey dem kidnap dey usually get dia freedom back afta dem pay moni and e dey rare say dem dey arrest kidnappers.
Dis na even though to pay for ransom to free pesin dey illegal.
All in all, na more than 4,700 pipo dem don kidnap since President Bola Tinubu enta office last May, according to risk consultants, SBM Intelligence.
Kidnapping don turn lucrative business for pipo wey dey find sharp moni sake of di economic kasala.
Apart from ransom moni, gangs don ask for foodstuffs, okada and even petrol to release hostages.
William Linder wey be retired CIA officer and di oga of 14 North wey be African focused risk advisory tell BBC say, “Nigeria poor economy dey create conditions for kidnapping. In di last year, goment neva fit dia foreign exchange problem. Food prices don skyrocket, especially ova di last six months. Di perception of corruption still dey ground.”
Alex Vines, director of di Africa programme for di Chatham House think-tank sef gree.
E say di recent attacks na bicos of Nigeria poor economy and di inability of forces to stop di kidnapping gang work.
Rising food costs don dey worse bicos farmers dey fear to go farm say dem fit attack or kidnap dem.
Dr Vines explain say for dat kain places, na armed gangs be di de facto authority.
Di gangs dey normally force moni from pipo, but di fact say dem no fit farm mean say dem no get moni like dat wey fit explain why di gangs move go kidnapping.
Also, di reduction of di Lake Chad basin and di widening of di Sahara Desert to di south mean say farmland dey reduce and scarcity of water dey.
Oga Linder say, “dis pressures dey add to di wahala of many pipo, especially for di north. E dey make pipo find oda ways to make moni and kidnapping na one.”
Di tin wey dey help di gangs na say Nigeria borders dey porous and insecure. Islamist wahala for di wider region don increase di insecurity.
Di plenti forest reserves for di border regions don turn criminals house of operations.
Bulama Bukarti wey be senior conflict analyst for di Tony Blair Institute for Global Change say, “Nigeria gatz work wit dia neighbours. Witout transnational co-operation especially wit Niger, Cameroon, Chad, dis kain incidents go continue to happun.”
But dat alone no go help Nigeria defeat di gangs, na wetin oga Bukarti add. Di authorities also need to dey willing to bring di criminals to justice.
E say, “we neva see say dem arrest and prosecute gang leader. E dey lucrative. More pipo go join, and di mata go increase.”
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