Kidnappings do not form part of the statistics of crime in the country but in recent times two have occurred.
In the DAILY GUIDE edition of yesterday, two kidnapping stories were published and they call for reflection given the seriousness of the subject.
Kidnapping and demanding ransoms should not be allowed under any circumstances to gain a foothold here. As a country, we have enough challenges and introducing this new line of criminality would be too much for us to deal with.
In the case of the Kumasi one, the man behind the criminality reportedly kidnapped two siblings and demanded the paltry amount of two thousand cedis through mobile phone before he would release his captives.
We salute the Ashanti Regional Police Command for dealing with the issue head-on; by tracking the suspect through the MTN telecommunications network, they were able to apprehend the suspect and thus minimizing the stress suffered by the parents of the kids.
As if that was not enough, the same edition carried the story of an apprentice seamstress kidnapped by some young men who had reportedly hypnotized her.
Although in this case, the youth behind the criminality have not been apprehended, it is our hope that they would soon be arrested even though their captive managed to flee from their grips not without wounds to nurse anyway.
It would be important to determine how many such cases have taken place in recent times and whether there is a cause for alarm. Some cases are sometimes not reported in the media and so it becomes difficult to draw conclusions about statistics.
It is important that those whose relatives are kidnapped report such cases to the police for prompt action and for the necessary alarm button to be pressed although we pray that what took place should be the last.
Be as it may, the law enforcement agencies should cooperate with the rest of the population with a view to responding swiftly whenever a kidnapping takes place.
One of the drawbacks of social media is the rate at which negative trends permeate geographical boundaries and get nurtured by criminal elements who seek novelties to leverage their occupations in host countries.
Kidnappings have been features of Nigeria for some time now – endemic to the southern part of the federation. Some high profile kidnappings have been adopted for films; some of which are relished by movie lovers here in Ghana – criminals inclusive.
Parents should teach their children, especially daughters, to avoid strangers who pretend to be asking for directions to places they do not know.
School authorities should liaise with parents about how their wards and children return home after school. Kidnappers would find schools easy targets to pick kids; the Kumasi one, for instance, being a case in point.
Of course, we have not reached crisis stage yet and we do not hope to reach there anyway, but cautioning ourselves as we are doing, is not out of place because to be kidnapped is such a harrowing experience for both the kidnapped and relatives.