This weekly update spotlights organized criminality in the Niger Delta with a focus on kidnapping for ransom in Cross River State. According to data (see map above), more than 60 kidnapping incidents and over 25 related fatalities were reported in Cross River State between January 2020 and April 2023. Recent incidents show that kidnapping for ransom is increasingly becoming prevalent and intense in the State. In January 2023, for example, two persons including an aide to a federal lawmaker were reportedly abducted by gunmen along the Calabar-Ikom Highway in Betem community, Biase LGA. In February, gunmen reportedly kidnapped two women including a Commissioner for Women Affairs at Mayne Avenue, Calabar South LGA. In March, four persons including an Assistant Superintendent of Immigration and the deputy governorship candidate of a political party were reportedly abducted by gunmen along the Calabar-Ogoja Highway in Biase LGA. Recently, on June 09, 2023, two residents including a staff of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) were reportedly kidnapped in Calabar, the state capital.
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