A strange twist was infused into the current rage of kidnap crimes sweeping the country when on Friday, March 30th the Deputy Director, Public Relations of our hardworking State Security Services (SSS), Mrs Marilyn Ogar, in Abuja paraded seven young men dressed in a colourful Ankara prints uniforms popularly known as aso ebi. It is worn by people going out for parties or celebration.

Just looking at them, one is forced to wonder whether these suspected felons were apprehended on their way to a social party, or maybe they just decided to put on a show in defiance?

Those paraded included Ojo Ibrahim Ajibade, Lamidi Akinkunmi, Olasunkanmi Temitope, Nureni Lamidi, Siyanbade Olalekan, Jelili Adeleke and Saka Kassim. They were alleged to be part of a syndicate that lured one Mohammed Khamis, a United Arab Emirate (UAE) businessman with a fake business name, Finuche Investments, into Nigeria whereupon he was abducted and kept in captivity for 60 days at Aborigun in Ikoyi, a town in Osun State.

Even though they (mercifully) allowed Mr Khamis to go unharmed on March 19th 2012, the long arm of the law personified by the SSS caught up with the seven youth with the rest, the alleged masterminds, still at large.

Since the crime of kidnapping acquired wildfire strength in Nigeria following its use initially as part of the strategies of the ex-militants of the Niger Delta to draw attention of the world to their cause before it became a lucrative crime now practised nationwide, there seems no end to it. The aso ebi kidnappers invented a new angle of luring foreigners to the country and keeping them hostage, obviously for ransom.

This crime of seizing foreigners forms part of a worrying departure from our cherished culture of deep respect and protection of visitors and foreigners in our midst. There is no civilised culture in Nigeria that does not have value for strangers and foreigners. Those who attack innocent foreigners in their midst are usually society’s outlaws and barbarians. As poverty and unemployment bite harder, young people all over the country are driven to violent crimes that increasingly ignore our cherished cultural values.

The main danger in the fate that Mr Khamis suffered in the hands of the aso ebi kidnappers is that more and more foreigners are going to be less enthusiastic about exploiting business opportunities in Nigeria for fear of being similarly victimised.

Beyond the obvious need for the security agencies to root out the rest of the kidnappers and bring down the full weight of the law on them, we really have to find gainful employment for our youth.

Parents need to go closer to their children and drum into them the virtue of dignity of labour. Since most of the suspects already have means of livelihood, it is obvious that the get-rich-quick syndrome pushed them to angle for Mr Khamis and perhaps others yet to be known.

As Nigerians are very religious, it is up to the religious leaders to redirect the attention of their flock, especially the young ones, away from crass materialism.

Without moral rearmament, this country will never rediscover the path to greatness.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/osuns-aso-ebi-kidnappers/

See this:

https://www.nairaland.com/903500/sss-parades-kidnappers-wearing-asho#10501955

hahaha!!!,another seven asho ebi kid-napping.na wa for dat peopl oo!