Kidnappers: How We Get Victims Through Social Media

The Dean, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Bowen University, Iwo, Prof John Ayoade, 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 been used by kidnappers and other criminals to get information on victims.


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 Peace-building Network of the Social Science Research Council, New York.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Kayode Soremekun, said the topic was apt considering the rising cases of conflicts in the world, especially in Africa.

Ayoade said, “The qualification for anybody to be kidnapped is the ability to pay 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, agitations 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.

Ayoade stated that the objective of Boko Haram was territorial control, adding that religion was only used as a camouflage.