Kidnappers have adopted new ways through which they get their victims as they take over Facebook and Whatsapp.
Whatsapp and Facebook
Prof. John Ayoade, the Dean, Faculty of Social Science, Bowen University, Iwo, has warned that personal information provided on the social media could be exploited by kidnappers to get their targets.
According to him, Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp, and email have become sources of required information and those who are unwary expose themselves.
He stated this while delivering a paper titled, “The Challenge of Peace and Security in Times of Economic Recession: The Nigerian Experience,” during a workshop organised by the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, and African Peacebuilding Network of the Social Science Research Council, New York.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kayode Soremekun, said the topic was apt considering rising cases of conflicts in the world, especially Africa.
Ayoade said, “The qualification for kidnapping is the ability to pay a huge ransom. Information is required for a successful operation and the recent communication explosion has aided the nefarious act.”
He listed Niger Delta militants, kidnapping, agitation for secession and Boko Haram terrorism as some of the products of bad governance, poverty, and corruption in the country, which the Federal Government must tackle headlong.
He stated that the objective of Boko Haram was territorial control, adding that religion was only used as a camouflage.