BACKGROUND TO #JusticeForHinyHumoren
The spate of kidnapping, rape and killing of women in Nigeria, has reached an unbearable height in recent times. One of the most recent is the case of Iniobong Umoren, which sparked the #JusticeForHinyHumoren movement.
Such is the situation now that it is not an uncommon sight on social media platforms, to see news of a young lady or woman, having been declared missing. If social media reports are anything to go by, it can be fairly determined that on the average, 2-3 women are kidnapped or considered missing every single day.
The general state of security in Nigeria has been deplorable for many years now; the issue of the Chibok girls kidnapped in 2013/14 remains yet to be completely solved. Apart from insurgent acts of Boko Haram, there have been activities of kidnapping and ritual killing rings which have plagued Nigeria for many years.
These crime rings usually perpetuated their kidnapping activities on lonely and isolated roads and locations, in order to keep a low profile and avoid being in the eye of the public. However, in recent times, they have become emboldened by the apparent inadequacy of the Nigerian security system.
Kidnappings now occur in practically every city in the country, and despite several cries by families of friends of victims of these kidnappings for the Nigerian government and security forces to come to their aid, nothing is being done.
As a result of the inability of the government security agencies to adequately tackle this problem, many believe that it could be politically motivated- hence the cry for #JusticeForHinyHumoren. The movement is created to ensure a full investigation into the kidnapping, raping and killing of Iniobong Umoren as well as opening up channels of investigation into other such cases.
A very common feature in Nigeria today, and which has been a preexisting phenomenon, is ritual killings. It is believed that many, especially politicians, engage in ritual killings in order to spiritually fortify themselves in their political sojourn. It sounds crazy from the outside looking in, but this is Nigeria, Africa, and this is our reality.
These kidnappings have recorded both male and female victims over the years but the number of female victims grossly outweighs that of male victims. And with female victims, chances of survival are about 1 in 100 cases. Kidnappers prey on the seeming vulnerability, or desperation as the case may be, of young women and bait them into an irredeemable situation.
The government has yet to take significant action against the failing state of the security in the country, and it has exponentially hiked the trajectory of unfortunate events such as that of Miss Umoren.
The #JusticeForHinyHumoren movement is among other things, a demand for answers, a demand for the case to be fully prosecuted, and for the government to be more active and hands-on in ensuring a clampdown on suspected kidnapping and ritual killing rings all across the country.
The movement aims to make a significant difference and hopefully change the status quo. The people have had enough, and the people want #JusticeForHinyHumoren and a safer society for all our women.
By Oluwamayowa Akinyemi
Oluwamayowa Akinyemi is a digital and web content developer with experience in web content development and management as well as research and writing. He is an avid reader of random subject matters and a sucker for movies and video games. He is also passionate about youth empowerment and is a global affairs analyst and enthusiast.