Daily Independent (Lagos)

Nigerians, including government and the police have rose to the challenge posed by faceless Nigerians who go about kidnapping people for ransom.

The recent kidnapping of the Chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalists, Lagos Council, Mr. Wahab Oba and three other journalists on July 11 in Abia State, may have triggered the feelings of Nigerians, who have called for the use of telecom devices in identifying kidnappers and arresting them.

Although the journalists were released one week after their abduction, Nigerians are saying that kidnapping of innocent citizens must come to a stop.

Embarrassed by the actions of kidnappers, who threaten lives of Nigerians, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), last week, rose to the challenge by unveiling some plans to reduce the menace of kidnapping in the country using telecommunications devices.

Former Acting Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr Bashir Gwandu, who dropped the hint in Abuja, said "kidnapping has become a serious menace in Nigeria over the last one year most especially in the South-East and South-South geopolitical zones of the country."

Drawing from one of his short, medium and long term plans to move the telecom industry forward, which he presented at a meeting with chief executives of telecom operators in Lagos recently, Gwandu said that one of such plans could significantly curtail or even eliminate the menace of kidnapping in the country.

He said while SIM card registration offers significant solution to the issue of kidnapping, another project that could complement SIM-card registration is a plan to issue subsidy to operators to install equipment on every mast and tower that could be used for triangulating between sites in order to identify real-geographical location of both GPS and none GPS-enabled mobile handsets.

Gwandu stated that in addition to the triangulation project all GPS-enabled handsets can also be tracked by low earth orbit satellites. He further stated that there were other equipment that could be deployed to tract and identify the locations of handsets being used to solicit for ransom.

According to the former NCC boss, once ownership of numbers can be identified, handsets can be tracked, and their geographical location becomes identifiable, then any call made to solicit for ransom would help to locate the kidnappers.

To curtail the phone assisted crimes Gwandu said the SIM-card registration would not only help to identify the owners of mobile phone-numbers but the data-base to be created would allow for pictures of criminals captured on CCTV or other cameras to be compared with and be searched in the phone users data-base for facial identification of criminals.

He also explained that the SIM-card registration could help in national-planning as well as for identification of criminals anywhere, anytime.

He said NCC would soon start publicity campaign to inform consumers of the availability of the stolen-handset blocking system, adding that discussion with countries in West-Africa so as to have a coordinated approach to blocking of stolen handsets was on-going.

Equally worried by the ugly trend in kidnapping, the Federal Government, last week, ordered NCC to hasten SIM card registration in the country. Minister of Information and Communication, Prof Dora Akwunyili who gave the order in Abuja, directed NCC to fast track the processes of SIM card registration by mobile phone operators. According to the Minister, if all SIM cards were registered effectively in the country, it would have been much easier to track down the abductors. She however blamed Nigerians for encouraging kidnapping by paying ransom at the slightest threat.

Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki, also last week, advised the Federal Government to compel GSM operators to adopt telecom devices for locating specific areas where calls were generated. The Governor insisted that it would facilitate the racking of kidnappers. He advised that such devices be installed in strategic places in all parts of the country to locate criminals who use mobile phones in perpetuating evil in the society.

Police, it was gathered, are battle ready to combat crimes emanating from kidnapping even in deadly hideouts.

Immediate past National President of the Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, who championed SIM card registration last year while he was in office, said he was glad that his struggle was not in vein, following the commencement of SIM card registration in the country in May 1, 2010. Ekuwem, who saw the need for SIM card registration long ago, had been a strong advocate for SIM card registration in the country. He explained that once every subscriber was registered across networks, kidnappers would cease from using mobile phones in threatening lives of people. He thanked the NCC for insisting on SIM card registration on May 1, 2010 despite oppositions from some telecom operators who were asking for extension of time to enable them prepare fully.

But in spite of the commencement of SIM card registration since May 1, some Nigerians are saying that the NCC is not doing enough in sensitising Nigerians on the need and importance of SIM registration. President of the National Association of Telecom Subscribers (NATCOMS), Deolu Ogunbanjo who spoke on behalf of Nigerian subscribers, wants NCC to do more on awareness campaign in letting Nigerians understand the need and benefits of SIM registration. According to him, "there is no enough awareness creation in the area of radio jingle, television broadcast and newspaper advertisement. He called on NCC to do more in sensitising Nigerians on SIM card registration.

Nigerians no doubt, have suffered enough torture and humiliation from the hands of kidnappers who force families of the abductees to pay ransom for the release of their loved ones. Now that Nigerians are condemning the action in one voice, it becomes absolutely necessary for NCC to liaise with telecom operators to hasten the process of SIM registration and come up with devices that will identify, track and apprehend perpetrators involved in the ugly act.

Read comments. Write your own.

Copyright © 2010 Daily Independent. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.