THE CONSEQUENCES OF KIDNAPPING ON THE COMMUNITY: A CASE STUDY OF ZURMI, ZAMFARA STATE

This article examines the consequences of kidnapping on the community. It contributes to the current body of literature on the menace by looking closely at how kidnapping affects the community -- an aspect that previous studies have ignored. Kidnapping exerts enormous and far reaching economic and social costs. It induces and creates a palpable ambience of fear and despairs for all citizens and stultifies economic growth and hinders sustainable development. This study adopted a mixed method, administering structured questionnaires, in-depth and key informant interviews were conducted with Traditional Rulers, Religious leader, Zamfara State Community Protection Guard (ZSCPG) personnel, Military and police officers, and Victim of Kidnapping in Zurmi, Zamfara state. The data revealed majority of the respondents believe that the consequences of kidnapping on Zurmi community are enormous including: emotional depression, anxiety, psychological trauma, and an experience of economic hardship, joblessness after victims’ release, abject poverty, anxiety, depression and trauma. The research adopted the Rational Choice Theory (RCT) as its theoretical frame of reference to explain the menace of kidnapping and its consequences on the community. RCT sees individuals as rational actors, capable of making their own choices, which includes choosing to commit crime. Before kidnappers go into the menace, they must have weighed the options and concluded more rewards than punishment. The study offered recommendations to address problems of kidnapping in the study area. Among them is the need for the federal government in collaboration with the Zamfara state government, to review the current strategy of dealing with the issue of kidnapping in Zurmi, Zamfara state especially and Nigeria generally. In particular, there is the need to explore the extant laws and the extent to which they are being enforced with a view to establishing their efficacy.