Disputes, mainly over money, between Nigerian politicians and criminals who helped them win elections in April are causing a surge in kidnappings, a top policeman said on Wednesday.
He cited the case of nine local politicians being held hostage in southwestern Ondo state by an armed group demanding payment for helping the ruling party rig elections, as well as two other cases.
“It is a trend,” Inspector General of Police Mike Okiro told Reuters after presenting two groups of suspected kidnappers to journalists.
“Criminals are using hostage-taking for vendetta. Today I am parading two groups who resorted to hostage-taking because politicians failed to keep their promises to them,” he said.
Nigeria held elections for president, state governors and members of the national and state assemblies in April. Vote rigging and intimidation were so widespread that European Union observers said the elections were “not credible”.
Okiro said unpaid debts left over from the polls were causing disputes. Money plays a big part in Nigerian elections, with politicians paying for votes, paying officials to change the results or paying thugs to intimidate voters and opponents.
One of the suspects presented on Wednesday, Nkechi Enemuoh, said she had been promised 500,000 naira to help a candidate from the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) win a seat in the house of assembly of southeastern Anambra state.
Enemuoh gave few details of what exactly she had done for the candidate, but said she had used her own money to persuade local people to vote for him and had not been paid back.
“The honourable never gave me any money,” she said, using a title used for legislators in Nigeria.
Okiro accused Enemuoh and an accomplice of plotting to kidnap the legislator’s father in retaliation. He said police had a recording of the suspects demanding money and threatening to abduct the elderly man if they were not paid.
He said the pair were arrested before they could carry out their threat. Enemuoh denied the accusation.
Nigerian police frequently parade suspects in front of journalists, a practice denounced by human rights group as prejudicial to fair trials. They say police tend to consider a case closed when suspects have been seen by the press.