NATIONAL: Ask FG to refund your ransom, Falana tells kidnap victims

HUMAN rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has advised victims of kidnapping whose relatives secured their release by paying ransoms to approach the government for a refund.

The lawyer said this became necessary because the spate of kidnappings rocking the country is as a result of government’s failure to rise to its prime duty of protecting its citizens.

He said, “To Nigerians who pay ransoms, please ask the government to refund the money. If the government does not refund the money, we must have a test case. Nigerians must challenge the government. The government has to pay instead of private people. Then, the government will know it has a duty to protect citizens.”

“Kidnapping is not limited to the South-West; it is a national phenomenon. Banditry, terrorism, armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes have to be addressed holistically by the government and that is the only way to stop some of these diversionary tactics going on all over the place. People attacking one another, (and doing) ethnic profiling. It is the responsibility of the government to protect

He added, “The Federal Government or the Presidency must not give the impression that some Nigerians are superior to another. The government must protect the lives and property of every citizen. That is the only way to show that the government is fair and just to the entire country.”