The Prevalence of Kidnapping for Ransom in Karenbana Parish, Kontagora Diocese, Nigeria

Since the late 1990s, kidnapping in Nigeria has become increasingly a thing of concern, and like wildfire, it is ravaging towns and cities. The main objective of this study is to assess the relationship between kidnapping for ransom and victims’ psycho-spiritual well-being. This article is devoted to one of the objectives, the prevalence of kidnapping for ransom in Karenbana Parish, Kontagora Diocese, Nigeria. This research examines kidnapping for ransom and the Psycho-Spiritual wellbeing of the victims in Karenbana Parish of Kontagora Diocese, Nigeria. The study’s findings show a moderate relationship between kidnapping for ransom and victims’ psycho-spiritual well-being, with Pearson’s correlation coefficient of two variables of r=.377**, implying that kidnapping has had a moderate impact on victims’ psycho-spiritual well-being in Karenbana Parish of Kontagora Diocese. The theories for this research were Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and William Glasser’s Choice theory. The target population was 17,000 according to the Annual Diocesan Statistics as at December, 31, 2020 comprising of men, women and youth/children. 391 chosen as the sample size but only 309 were validly returned questionnaires out of which 15 participants were purposively chosen for interview. 94.5% of respondents agree that kidnapping has been rampart in their area, which means there is a high rate of kidnapping for ransom. The research also revealed that 86.7% of the respondents believe that God loves them and cares about them, which shows a high level of psycho-spiritual well-being. The study will be beneficial to Government, the Church, and the local community and for psycho-therapists who engage in helping victims.