Nigeria Institutionalising Kidnapping With Ransom Payments, Says Cleric

The Nigerian government and security stakeholders in the country have been cautioned against using ransom payments to negotiate the release of kidnapped victims.

The planter of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Adamimogo Grace of Mercy Prayer Mountain Worldwide, Prophet Sam Olu Alo, gave the advice, saying that doing that continually, the nation risks institutionalising kidnapping as a thriving criminal enterprise.

The cleric who described such practice as dangerous and counterproductive to the fight against insecurity spoke at his country home, Ido Ekiti, headquarters of Ido Osi local government area of Ekiti State during his Sam Olu-Alo Foundation annual empowerment programme for widows, the aged and students.

At the 15th and 2025 edition of the programme, about 3,500 widows from across the state, the highest since the inception of the initiative, were given rice, cash and clothing materials while about 50 secondary school students were given money to pay for their WAEC fees, all totalling over N10 million.

Prophet Olu Alo explained that the purpose of the programme is to make the widows happy so that they won’t regret their existence after the demise of their husbands and to relieve parents of some of the burdens of sponsoring their children in school.

Speaking further on the worsening insecurity in the country, the prophet urged the government to adopt a more proactive and strategic approach rather than resorting to financial negotiations that empower criminal elements.

Emphasising that God wants the sinners to repent, but posited that rewarding violent crimes with money would only embolden the perpetrators.