By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN

The Ingredients of Offence of Kidnapping:

The prosecution discharges its burden of proving the offence of kidnapping beyond reasonable doubt when the evidence adduced demonstrates the unlawful taking of the victim, against his or her wish. In order for the prosecution to succeed, it has to prove the following facts beyond reasonable doubt:

(a) that the victim was seized and taken away by the accused person; and

(b) that the victim was taken away against his consent or will; and

(c) that the victim was taken away without lawful excuse or that the act was carried out without lawful justification.

The offence of kidnapping is complete when the victim is carried away against his wish. Therefore, the essential elements coalesce around the non-consensual deprivation of liberty through the physical removal of the person from his or her chosen location.

The specific intention of the perpetrator is not a necessary element for the completion of the actus reus of kidnapping in all its forms. In the instant case, the kidnappers were intercepted by law enforcement officers before reaching their intended destination to demand ransom. Therefore, the prosecution was not required to prove an actual ransom demand in the light of the disruption of the crime by the police. The essential elements of kidnapping were sufficiently established beyond reasonable doubt.

The Standard of Proof of Crime and Meaning of Proof Beyond Reasonable Doubt:

For the prosecution to establish the guilt of an accused person, evidence must be led to prove such guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Although proof beyond reasonable doubt does not mean proof beyond all doubt or all shadow of doubt, it means the prosecution must establish the guilt of the accused person with convincing, compelling and conclusive evidence.

How to Prove Criminal Intention:

A defendant’s intention can be inferred from his conduct, surrounding circumstances and intervening events within which he acts. It is from the manifestation of his conduct that his intention can be ascertained. The most direct and compelling avenue for establishing intention lies in the individual’s own articulation. A voluntary confession, freely and unequivocally made, wherein the defendant explicitly declares his purpose, offers the clearest insight into his state of mind at the material time.

However, such explicit admissions are infrequent occurrences. In the instant case, on a community consideration of the appellant’s conduct, coupled with the entire circumstances of the case as well as the events leading to the same, the making of the inference from his obvious conduct could not be speculative so as to cast any doubt on his intention. The appellant’s intention was in tandem with the particular “for purposes of payment of ransom kidnaps and takes another person hostage”.

The Proper Forum for Attack on Credibility of Witness:

The proper forum for an assault on the credibility of a witness is at the trial court, during the heat of the proceedings, and not in a written brief presented at an appellate court. In the instant case, despite the opportunity afforded, the appellant failed to meaningfully challenge the testimony of PW2. Under cross-examination, she remained steadfast in her assertion that she identified the appellant by the illumination provided by flashlights. The appellant’s attempt to discredit her in his brief of argument was a wrong tactic.

How to Establish Inconsistency in Evidence of Witness:

Inconsistency in evidence can only be established by comparing multiple pieces of evidence given by the same witness. In the instant case, the appellant contended that PW2’s testimony, relied upon by the trial court, was inconsistent. However, PW2’s extra-judicial statement, which the respondent sought to tender, was objected to by the appellant and consequently marked as rejected at the trial court.

So, there was no second version of PW2’s statement on record against which her testimony before the trial court could be evaluated for contradictions. Thus, the appellant’s claim that PW2’s testimony was inconsistent lacked foundation.

The Effect of Document Marked Rejected:

Once a document is marked as rejected, it remains inadmissible for all purposes within the same trial and its defect cannot be cured in that proceeding.

The Primary Duty of Trial Court to Evaluate Evidence and Ascribe Probative Value Thereto:

A trial court, which has the opportunity to observe the demeanour of witnesses, is best suited to evaluate their credibility and ascribe probative value to their testimony. In the instant case, the trial court rightly held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt on the strength of PW2’s eyewitness account and the testimony of PW4, who rescued the victim from the trunk of the Peugeot 406 wagon.

NOTABLE PRONOUNCEMENT:

On Serious Nature and Effect of Kidnapping the Old and Elderly and Duty on Court to Protect the Vulnerable, Uphold the Law and Preserve Values of Nigerian Society:

Per OKORO, J.S.C. at page 610, paras. A-D:

“Kidnapping, in any form, is a heinous offence, but the targeting of a 98-year-old woman, frail and vulnerable, for the purposes of ransom, reveals a depth of depravity that is shocking to the conscience. It is particularly disturbing that the perpetrators of this crime are young men who have shown a complete disregard for the sanctity of age and the respect owed to our elders, ignoring the hallowed years, the elders sacred right! Kidnapping instills fear, erodes trust, and undermines the sense of security that should prevail in our communities. When the elderly, who are often the most vulnerable, are targeted, it sends a chilling message that no one is safe. It disrupts the social order and threatens to destroy the bonds of respect and care that hold us together. I hope that this conviction and the sentence imposed will serve as a deterrent to others who may be tempted to engage in such reprehensible acts. Let it be known that this court will not tolerate such crimes and will come down heavily on those who perpetrate them. It is our duty to protect the vulnerable, to uphold the law, and to preserve the values of our society.”

CONCLUSION

The state of crime in the country has become very alarming, especially when life itself has become a tool for commercial ventures. In most cases, kidnapping is seen as a means to enrich the perpetrators, at the expense of the lives of the victims. With the disturbing revelation that even the government has been paying ransom to kidnappers, citizens have become seriously helpless.

Although many States have adjusted their criminal laws to make the offence of kidnapping punishable with death, this alone will not solve the monstrous problem. Deployment of technology, funding of the law enforcement agencies, inter-agency collaborations between the relevant agencies involved in the investigation and prosecution of crime, effective prosecution of suspected kidnappers and active engagement of the youth in the formal and informal sectors are viable solutions for consideration.

There is an urgent need for a holistic overhaul of the entire security architecture of the nation to make it more effective and result oriented. This is important and critical for national peace and development as a violence-free environment is a booster for rapid economic development.

In addition, political office holders should stop arming youths for political engagements and contests. The danger in this is that such dastardly efforts always backfire after the main mission has been accomplished. Political thugs become an unwarranted liability on the masses, including their families. The backing provided by political heavy weights encourages the criminals to advance in their nefarious activities, knowing that even when they are caught, somebody somewhere will intervene to grant them soft landing. This has always been the bane of effective war on crimes and criminals. At the stage of arrest, extraneous interventions work out in their favour to either secure their release or facilitate favourable prosecution through defective charges, poor investigation and lame prosecution, all meant to create loopholes for the accused person to lap upon to defeat the case against him. Added to this is the need for a central data regime that will capture the relevant particulars of all citizens. Accurate data is an effective tool in forensic investigation and analysis.

Curbing kidnapping in Nigeria requires a multifaceted approach, including strengthening intelligence-driven law enforcement, deploying technology like drone surveillance, and addressing economic desperation through job creation.

Key strategies involve enforcing stricter NIN-SIM linkage, implementing cashless economy policy to track ransom payments, bolstering community policing, and strengthening judicial processes to ensure convictions. It will also involve technological and financial surveillance by utilizing the BVN (Bank Verification Number) and NIN (National Identification Number) to monitor financial transactions and track ransom payments. There should also be improved telecom regulation by enforcing strict, proper registration of SIM cards to stop criminals from using unregistered phones.

Part of this is also to explore advanced surveillance through the deployment of drones for aerial surveillance and intelligence gathering to monitor high-risk areas. Next is to focus on security and legal reforms by establishing specialized anti-kidnapping units and enhancing intelligence sharing among security agencies. This will then activate judicial action to fast-track the prosecution and conviction of kidnappers. In the same vein, there must be urgent measures taken to strengthen border security to prevent the proliferation of weapons.

Above all, community and social interventions are very critical, by embracing community policing, empowering local, community-based security to act as intelligence sources, including state police. Through job creation, the state is able to address the root cause of youth unemployment and poverty to reduce the incentive to commit crimes, while at the same time creating public awareness, by educating citizens on security measures, such as avoiding routine movements and limiting the sharing of personal information on social media.

Certain operational tactics should be adopted, including increased patrols and enhancing mobile patrols and increasing security presence in high-risk zones. In whatever way it can be achieved, the government must end ransom payments through the implementation of policies that discourage or prohibit the payment of ransom, which fuels the industry. These measures must be supported by political will and a commitment to combat corruption within the security agencies.

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