Kidnapping As An Element Of Terrorism In Nigeria

1.0 INTRODUCTION
The crime of unlawfully seizing and carrying away a person by force orfraud, or seizing and detaining a person against his or her will with an intent to carry that person away at a later time.
The law of kidnapping is difficult to define with precision because it varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Most state and federal kidnapping statutes define the term kidnapping vaguely, and courts fill in the details.
Generally, kidnapping occurs when a person, without lawful authority, physically asports (i.e., moves) another person without that other person’s consent, with the intent to use the abduction in connection with some other nefarious objective. Under the model penal code (a set of exemplary criminal rules fashioned by the American Law Institute), kidnapping occurs when any person is unlawfully and non-consensually as ported and held for certain purposes. These purposes include gaining a ransom or reward; facilitating the commission of a felony or a flight after the commission of a felony; terrorizing or inflicting bodily injury on the victim or a third person; and interfering with a governmental or political function (Model Penal Code § 212.1).

Kidnapping laws in the United States derive from the common law of kidnapping that was developed by courts in England. Originally, the crime of kidnapping was defined as the unlawful and non-consensual transportation of a person from one country to another. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, states began to redefine kidnapping, most notably eliminating the requirement of interstate transport.

At the federal level, Congress passed the lindbergh act in 1932 to prohibit interstate kidnapping (48 Stat. 781 [codified at 18 U.S.C.A. §§ 1201 et seq.]). The Lindbergh Act was named for Charles A. Lindbergh, a celebrated aviator and Air Force colonel whose baby was kidnapped and killed in 1932. The act provides that if a victim is not released within 24 hours after being abducted, a court may presume that the victim was transported across state lines. This presumption may be rebutted with evidence to the contrary. Other federal kidnapping statutes prohibit kidnapping in U.S. territories, kidnapping on the high seas and in the air, and kidnapping of government officials (18 U.S.C.A. §§ 1201 et seq., 1751 et seq.).
A person who is convicted of kidnapping is usually sentenced to prison for a certain number of years. In some states, and at the federal level, the term of imprisonment may be the remainder of the offender’s natural life. In jurisdictions that authorize the death penalty, a kidnapper is charged with a capital offense if the kidnapping results in death. Kidnapping is so severely punished because it is a dreaded offense. It usually occurs in connection with another criminal offense, or underlying crime. It involves violent deprivation of liberty, and it requires a special criminal boldness. Furthermore, the act of moving a crime victim exposes the victim to risks above and beyond those that are inherent in the underlying crime.
There is no general agreement among scholars or lawyers on a definition of terrorism. However, it is the use of violence for purpose of political extortion, coercion and publicity for a political causes” whether aimed at persons or property, whether consisting of threatened or actual violence and whether the victims are civil or government officials, terrorism is designed to win political concessions by instilling fear. Terrorism is also generality unconventional political violence since it is staged with the intent of reading a wide audience through spectacular acts that violate accepted socials mores and earns front page headings. Political international criminal distinguished from international criminal behavior such as narcotics trafficking, privacy or slave trading. Both can involve violence, but international law has generally recognized political causes as a legal defense for certain violent acts that could other wise is considered crimes. The line of distinction can however be hazy in particular cases1.
The first and most immediate problem is one of defining and conceptualizing terrorism as an international crime. The core in the definition of terrorism relates to the actual usage of violence, threats of violence or forms of intimidation to achieve a political objective; definitions from legal and illegal sources tend to affirm these underlying features. The oxford advance learner’s dictionary defines terrorism as the “use of violence and threats of violence especially for political purposes”. According to the United States departments of defense, terrorism constitutes “the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to inculcate fear, intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuits of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological”. The use federal Bureau of investigation defines terrorism. As “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or population, or any segment therefore, in furtherance of political or social objectives”2.
Terrorism has most commonly become identified, however, with the individuals or groups attempting to destabilized or overthrow existing political institutions. Terrorism had been used by one or both sides in anti colonial conflicts (Ireland and the United Kingdom, Algeria and France, Vieteman and France – United States). In disputes between different national groups over possession of a contested homeland (Palestinians and Israel) in conflict between different regions, domination (Catholics and protestants in Northern Ireland), and in internal conflicts between revolutionary forces and established government (Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Iran, Nicaragua, El-Salvador and Argentina) 3
Broadly speaking, terrorism is of three categories. First, the category of those whose object of terror is inspired by political fervor. These are usually communist – oriented and include some fascist movements.
The second category of terrorists comprises those inspired by nationalism or ethnic grievance while the third category comprises those with religious grievance, particularly of the Islamic fault. Most prominent amongst them are found within the fold of the Palestinian liberation organization (PLO) which was formed in 1964 as Al fatah 4.
Terrorists use violence in an attempt to achieve political goals. Their intents are to bring about political change by creating a climate of fear within the society they oppose. The targeting of innocent victims and symbolic locations for a high profile attack has long been the preferred method of terrorist organizations. For centuries, terrorism has been an instrument of repression by government as well as tool of revolutionaries trying to overthrow government. Beginning in the late 1960s, the occurrence of terrorism increased dramatically throughout the world.