Kidnappers Using Snakes To Terrorise Victims – Lifestyle Nigeria
Abducted victims recently freed from captivity have revealed that kidnappers use poisonous snakes to terrorise them.
Some of them, who recounted their ordeals in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), said that there were many snakes in the forests inhabitated by the bandits.
They said that the snakes often bite both the kidnappers and the victims.
One of them, who craved anonymity, told NAN that kidnappers threw them into snake-infested spots.
“The kidnappers know the areas infested with snakes and would often throw the victims there.
“Immediately they see snakes, the fear-stricken victims will want to run away. The sight is used to frighten people.
“That is the time a victim can ask friends and family members to sell everything – house, land, cars, household items, shoes, just everything – to raise the ransom.”
NAN investigation revealed that the worst snake-infested forests are in Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State, and Kala-Balge, near Lake Chad, in Borno.
Other areas included Shaki in Oyo State, Borgu and Kagara in Niger, Karim Lamido in Adamawa, and Lau in Taraba.
Some of the victims told NAN that the situation is worse now with the current heat as snakes leave their holes in search of fresh air and food.
“The nights are often more traumatising. You are left outside, in the dark, and a reptile may just creep through your legs.
“While I was in captivity, snakes bit some victims. The kidnappers were not spared as some of them also got bitten,” a victim, who was taken to a thick forest in Kagara, in Niger, told NAN.
According to him, in Kagara forest, the snakes are so common that the locals refer to them as “kadangarun Kagara (Kagara lizards).”
Prof. Abdulsalam Nasidi, Chairman, Echitap Study Group, the outfit in charge of Echitap Anti-Snake Venom(ASV), who spoke on the development, confirmed that banditry was associated with areas prone to snake bites.
Nasidi, whose group collaborates with Micropharm UK Ltd and Instituto Clodomiro Picardo (ICP), Costa Rica, to bring the drugs to Nigeria, decried the rising cases of snake bites in Nigeria.
“Unfortunately for us, the cost of snake bite treatment has gone well beyond the reach of the poor,” he said.
While confirming that some abductees indeed returned with snakebite wounds, he said that the cost of treatment could only be affordable if the ASV drugs were produced locally.
“The ASV manufacturers are ready to collaborate with us to produce the ASV in Nigeria.
“It is only when we produce ASV locally in Nigeria that we can make it available at a reduced cost.
“The rise in the value of the dollar has made the cost of foreign production so high that the poor man who, in most cases, is the victim of snake bites, cannot afford it.
“In the past, villagers used to contribute money to purchase ASV, that is no longer possible.
“An ample of the Echitap G ASV, which takes care of venoms from a carpet viper, costs 59 Pounds factory price. 97 per cent of poisonous snake bite cases in Nigeria are from carpet vipers.
“For Echitap plus ICP ASV, which treats venom from puff adder, carpet viper and black cobra, an ample is 24 dollars factory price.
“If you add the cost of transportation from the two countries – UK and Costa Rica – plus the charges for clearance at the ports, the price becomes a different thing.”
He identified the most poisonous snakes in Nigeria as carpet viper, puff adder and black cobra.
“But, we even have an equally dangerous snake – Black Mamba – in Abuja. So, we also need an ASV for it,” he said.
According to him, in the past, Nigerians bitten by snakes had 40 per cent chances of survival.
“But, if the black mamba is added, the chances shrink to 10 per cent. It means we desperately need to produce ASV locally,” he said.
On kidnappers deliberately exposing their victims to snakes, he pointed out that snakes do not know the difference between a kidnapper and his victim.
He lamented the prevalence of snake bites among poor Nigerians that were already hungry.
“If a snake bites a hungry person, his case is only pathetic as he is already economically traumatised without much hope.”
He particularly condemned the inhuman behaviour of exposing abductees to snake bites, and regretted the “zero” premium placed on human life.
“From the accounts of victims, kidnapped people could see a snake coming toward them and are not allowed to run. Nothing is more traumatising.”
Nasidi said that his group had submitted a proposal to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), for the local production of ASV.
“The proposal has been approved and we are waiting for the money to start up.
“The foreign manufacturers are ready to offer the technology. So, we are hopeful that we shall soon start local production of ASV,” he said.
Nasidi advised Nigerians to be careful while moving at night, noting that snakes were moving closer to human habitats.
“We must all be very watchful and observant. Treating snake bites is very expensive. So, prevention is better than any form of cure,” he said. (NAN)
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On Thursday, May 2, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) University of Abuja chapter has commenced an indefinite strike.
Dr. Sylvanus Ugoh, Chairman of the Branch, acknowledged the event, saying the resolution was made during a congress meeting held at the institution’s Permanent Site.
Platinumpost reports that members of the UniAbuja chapter of ASUU have been at loggerheads with the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdulrasheed Na’allah and the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman over the processes for the appointment of a new VC.
An advertorial that surfaced in a national daily on March 15, 2024, sought a replacement for Na’Allah.
However, ASUU members, in a conference, rejected the ad, declared it “illegal,” and stated that it was not from the governing council.
Ugoh noted that the Universities Miscellaneous Provision Act 1993 as amended; 2003 and 2012 (Section 3, subsections 1 and 2) empowers only the governing council to advertise the VC’s seat when declared vacant.
“You will recall that the university administration placed an advert on the vacancy of the post of a Vice-Chancellor on Friday 15th March 2024,” Ugoh had said.
He argued that no other organ or individual is legally vested with the power to initiate the procedure of appointing a successive VC.
More to follow…
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During the ongoing ministerial press briefing to commemorate the first year in office of the second term of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Ope George, revealed that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Lagos State has experienced significant growth under the current administration.
Lifestyle Nigeria reports that the GDP has increased from N27 trillion to N41 trillion within a span of four years.
The development highlights the impressive strides that the state has made in its economic development and positions Lagos as a leading contributor to Nigeria’s overall GDP.
According to George, “Over the last couple of years, Lagos had face numerous challenges particularly when COVID 19 and Endsars struck.
“And so we have had a lot of shocks within our system over the last couple of years and with everything going on around the world.
“We are currently riding the curve and we are coming out on a better side. “You hear sometimes when they say Lagos is one of the largest economies in Africa and truly, it’s not static, we will continue to move based on what’s going on in the world.
“As we speak now, I believe that we are currently ranked 7th in terms of GDP in Africa. “We contributed at least a minimum of over 20 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP and you will find that over a period of review, during the first term of Mr Governor, we are moving in the right direction.
“Our GDP has moved from about N27trn to N41 trillion, everything shows that our indices are climbing in the right direction despite all the shocks and all the problems we have witnessed in the past.”
GDP is the standard measure of the value added created through the production of goods and services in a country during a certain period.
Otherwise, is the monetary value of all finished goods and services made within a country during a specific period.
Meanwhile, World Economics Research, London, showed the official estimate for Nigeria’s GDP was $1.116 trillion at the end of 2023 in Purchasing Power Parity Terms, PPPT.
World Economics has developed a database presenting GDP in PPPT with added estimates for the size of the informal economy and adjustments for out-of-date GDP base year data.
World Economics estimated Nigeria’s GDP to be $2.113 trillion- 89% larger than official estimate.
Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have made a significant breakthrough by apprehending the alleged mastermind behind the violent assault on the Abuja-Kaduna passenger train in March 2022.
The development was disclosed during a press briefing held in Kaduna on Thursday, May 2, 2024, by the Police Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi.
Identified as Ibrahim Abdullahi, who also goes by the ominous moniker of Mandi, the suspect’s arrest marks a pivotal moment in the investigations into the unfortunate Abuja-Kaduna train attack.
ACP Adejobi revealed that Abdullahi was also involved in the abduction of students from Greenfield University in 2021, shedding light on the extent of his alleged criminal activities.
Source: Politics Nigeria
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