CITIZENS’ PERCEPTION ON EFFECTS OF KIDNAPPING ON SECURITY

ABSTRACT

The cases of kidnapping in Nigeria and in Edo State in particular are rising, and taking dangerous dimensions. What exists in the literature is an ample of research reports on the causes and socioeconomic implications of kidnapping. Hence, very little but indirect efforts have been made to investigate effects of kidnapping on security situation in Nigeria from perspective public perception. The general objective of this study is to explore citizens’ perception of the effects of the rising incidence of kidnapping on the security situations in Edo South Senatorial District of Edo State. However, the specific objectives are to: ascertain the level of public panic due to rising incidence of kidnappings in its bearing on security; examine the perception of high way safety in line with kidnapping and its effect on security; ascertain the level of involving security agencies, especially the Nigeria Police in kidnapping cases, and its impact on security; examine the perception of police effectiveness in handling actual kidnapping cases and its security implications; explore the causes of death during the incident of kidnapping. The exploratory research design operated with the cross sectional research design was adopted for this study. The calculated sample size for this study was placed at approximately 816.. For the collection of qualitative data, the purposive sampling techniques were used to select two interviewees from each of the local government areas. Hence, there were 14 interviewees for the collection of qualitative data that complemented the quantitative data. Fundamentally, two research instruments of data collection were engaged in this study as specified below: a semi-structured questionnaire, and an unstructured in-depth interview guide. It was found that a majority of respondents (64%) believe that there is either some level of panic (37.3%) or partial panic (26.7%) in their community due to kidnapping incidents. A significant number of respondents (45.2%) believe that the use of the highway has been reduced due to the activities of kidnappers. The majority of respondents (54.3%) did not affirm that the Police was still relevant in the handling kidnap cases.The data shows that among the security agencies/bodies, the Army is considered as the most effective in combating actual cases of kidnapping. The majority of respondents (54.7%) believe that the death of victims during kidnappings is avoidable or preventable. There was statistically significant difference in the perception of the level of panic due to kidnapping in Edo South according to the age groups. There is statistically significant association between educational qualification and the tendency to get the Police involved in cases of kidnapping. There was statistically significant difference in perceived police effectiveness in the fight against kidnapping in Edo South according the respondents’ nature of employment.