After prevarication over ransom motives, terrorists who bombed the Kaduna-bound rail service from Abuja on March 28 have demanded 4.3billion naira to free hostages remaining in their captivity. This could be said to represent another phase of their terrorism – this time psychological and economic. Such demand in exchange for the lives of the 43 victims still in the terrorists’ custody subjects the families of the victims to fresh round of emotional distress and trauma. Sadly, government has so far been unable to free the victims from captivity and left the families in agitation for continuing safety of their loved ones.

In the face of seeming helplessness by the state, the terrorists have mustered the courage to demand a huge ransom from relations of the hostages who have been in captivity for more than 100 days now. Should the families raise such humongous ransom to free their loved ones, the terrorists would likely be emboldened to strike some other time for another round of extortion. Besides, with such enormous sum in their kitty, the terrorists would obviously be economically empowered to buy lethal weapons to further tyrannize the country. As it were, some 800 million naira was reported paid to them before the recent batch of hostages released.

Under the circumstance, the nation is feeding a monster, and that monster’s appetite cannot be satiated if it is not altogether stopped. So, the Federal Government that controls the national security apparatus would need to wake up to the responsibility of breaking the vicious cycle of insecurity that feeds further insecurity. It was audacious that terrorists, while holding many Nigerians hostage, recently stormed the prison facility in Kuje with the apparent aim of freeing their own colleagues in government custody. And they got their way.

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