Group carpets police for failure to rescue Ojajuni despite NIM, SIM, other data

 

The #EndBadGovernance Movement, Lagos chapter has criticised the silence of the police amid video showing Afenifere Youth leader, Eniola Ojajuni begging Nigerians to crowdfund his ransom payment.

Ojajuni’s abductors are demanding N100 million ransom for his release with a deadline of Monday afternoon, which has already passed.

In a statement by the #EndBadGovrrnance Movement signed by Hassan Taiwo Soweto and Oloye Adegboyega-Adeniji said the heart wrenching video of Ojajuni begging for his life ought to have moved President Bola Tinubu to mobilise resources towards the rescue of Ojajuni.

The group also faults police delay in the rescue of Ojajuni, saying one of the justifications for BVN registration, sim card, national identity card as well as numerous other identity registrations that Nigerians have been forced to undergo in the past few years was that these would aid security agencies with real-time data to track criminals and protect the lives and properties of the Nigerian people. The statement wonders why these data haven’t been put to that use.

The statement reads in full.

“Recent developments in the polity have amply demonstrated the hefty price the Nigerian people will continue to pay so far President Tinubu and the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) are left to continue to mismanage and misrule Nigeria. The latest of such is the reported abduction of the National President of the Afenifere Youth Council, Prince Eniola Ojajuni. A viral video of Ojajuni surfaced on social media on Sunday 23rd February 2025. In the video, a tearful Ojajuni who was reportedly kidnapped since Monday 17 February 2025, could be seen saying that his abductors vowed to kill him by 3pm the next day, Monday 24 February 2025, unless he is able to pay a ransom of N100 million. He therefore pleaded with family members, friends and Nigerians to save his life by contributing to the ransom.

“We of the #Endbadgovernance Movement Lagos State chapter hereby call on the Nigerian police and other security agencies to immediately swing into action to rescue Eniola Ojajuni so he can be reunited with his family. We recall that one of the justifications for BVN registration, sim card, national identity card as well as numerous other identity registrations that Nigerians have been forced to undergo in the past few years was that these would aid security agencies with real-time data to track criminals and protect the lives and properties of the Nigerian people. Now is the time for us to see this in action. Nothing less than Eniola’s immediate rescue would be acceptable to us all as we watch the clock continue to tick past the time reportedly given by the kidnappers.

“Even as we write, it is already past the deadline given by the kidnappers and yet there is no indication that Ojajuni’s family has been able to pay the ransom or that the Police and other security agencies, who by the way are only effective when suppressing civil liberties, are doing anything to rescue him. This has raised concern that the kidnappers might go ahead to kill him as they had vowed.

“Unfortunately, such a sad tale like that of Ojajuni has become a rather-too-frequent occurrence amidst a broader trend of rising crime rates in Nigeria under the rule of President Tinubu since May 29 2023 when he came into power. This is not surprising. By imposing harsh neo-liberal economic policies of fuel subsidy removal, naira devaluation, increment in electricity and data tariff all of which have increased poverty, hunger and frustration, the Tinubu regime simply opened the safety valve for social disharmony and criminality to take over. So bad is the state of hunger, hardship and desperation in the country today that ritual killing, sale of human flesh and other horrific crimes have increased exponentially with women and girls being the worst affected.

“That the police and other security agencies have neither publicly acknowledged the horrendous video nor taken any publicly verifiable step to track and rescue Ojajuni demonstrates not only a failure of security, rather these are telltale signs that Nigeria has graduated from a failing state to a failed state. In a sane society where the institutions of government are alive to their duties, such a heart wrenching video would have made president of the country to shelve all official assignments in order to mobilize all available resources behind a surgical search and rescue operation to track Ojajuni’s abductors, liquidate them and bring him back home safe and sound. Instead, our so-called elected executives and lawmakers across the length and breadth of the country including President Tinubu went about their lawful and unlawful duties today clearly unconcerned and unbothered leaving Ojajuni’s families and friends to face the crisis alone.

“This attitude of unconcern only speaks to the soullessness of the people in power and the brutality of the inequitable capitalist system that they defend. As far as they are concerned, the sole reason for being in power is to steal money and not to protect the lives and properties of average Nigerians whom they do not believe to be humans in the first instance. This is exactly why the Nigerian people have to rise up now. It is now crystal clear that no matter how long these people stay in power, there is no hope that they can ever run the country in a way the brings benefit and progress to the working masses and poor of Nigeria.

“It is high time the masses rise up to say enough is enough. Unless we are prepared to unite to struggle now, then anybody can fall into the same predicament as Eniola Ojajuni as kidnapping becomes a thriving industry amidst a total breakdown of law and order. It is only by mass struggle that we can force the government to reverse all the criminal anti-poor policies of fuel price hike, naira devaluation, hike in electricity and data tariff they have been implementing since May 29, 2023 which has pushed the masses to brink of starvation and desperation.

“Also, it is only through struggle that we can send the crooks out of power and put in place a new kind of government composed by workers, youth and the poor and armed with anti-capitalist and pro-people programme of action that ensures that Nigeria’s enormous wealth is nationalized, democratically planned and managed to meet the needs of all, instead of the greed of a few.”