Ejiofor said kidnapping is on the rise because some Nigerians have turned it into a money-making venture.
A former Director General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Mike Ejiofor has made a revelation about kidnapping in the Southeast.
Speaking on Wednesday, Ejiofor revealed that kidnapping is now a franchise in Nigeria.
Ejiofor said kidnapping is on the rise because some Nigerians have turned it into a money-making venture.
He spoke on Arise Television’s The Morning Show while reacting to the kidnapping of Adekunle Raif Adeniji, the Director of Administration of the All Progressives Congress, APC, at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja.
After abducting Adeniji, the kidnappers demanded the sum of N350 million as ransom.
Commenting on the abduction, Ejiofor said: “Kidnapping is now a franchise, and nobody is exempted, be you a religious leader, politician, community leader, top government functionary, or legislator.
“I think the reason why it’s on the rise is that people have turned it into a money-making venture. If you can see, the issue of robbery is on the decline because people don’t keep money at home.
“What the kidnappers do is kidnap their victims and make demands for ransom, which people are willing to pay.
“You don’t blame people who pay ransom. What are the motives for kidnapping? Some of them are mostly economic, while others are political.
“Some people expose themselves to all these dangers, so it’s important for us to moderate how we live, especially among politicians because they are the main targets now.
“As we speak, a lot of people are not happy with our politicians, and they have become easy targets, so they must strengthen the security around them.
“Besides that, we should look at the issue of the economy. The government should not try to fight kidnapping alone – it should provide an enabling environment for people to work.”