Kidnapping and the Nigerian society: A sociological insight

Abstract

Kidnapping as a form of criminal behaviour is not entirely new around the world. However, its current dimension has become a serious menace especially in the Nigerian society. This is particularly disheartening given that kidnapping now assumes a renewed criminal dimension that is enabled by socio-economic, political and religiousdiscontents. From a sociological perspective, the paper attempts to determine the socio-economic and psychological impact of kidnapping as well as the nexus between security and kidnapping, which has continued to undermine the wellbeing of the society.The paper rests on the theoretical assumptions of functionalism to explain the problem and why it persistsin the country. Secondary method of data collection which involved in-depth content analysis was employed in the course of gathering information. The data collected were analyzed using qualitative models that involved conceptual and thematic narratives. Findings revealed kidnapping generates conditions that further undermine the socio-economic, political, psychological wellbeing and religious security as well as safety of persons in the country. It is therefore, the position of this paper that hard drugs, adverse socio-economic conditions, youth unemployment, social injustice as well as frustration arising from social strain, all contribute to the menace of kidnapping in Nigeria. The paper made some recommendations that if adopted by the relevant stakeholders would go a long way to mitigate the problem of kidnapping in Nigeria.

Keywords: Kidnapping, Security, Safety, Sociological insight, Nigeria.