Kidnapping as a historical and persistent phenomenon in
Nigeria, has become a major social vice, second perhaps
only to drug trafficking among global crimes. Despite
Nigeria’s status as “the Giant of Africa” the government’s
control has been seemingly overshadow by kidnappers,
who dictate the pace of activities and perpetrate crime with
impunity. This has led to a violation of the fundamental
human right to freedom of movement, both as enshrined in
the UN Charter and the Nigerian Constitution. The
government’s efforts to curb this menace have been largely
in effective, as evidenced by the continuous recurrence of
abductions and the media portrayal of the country’s failing
state status. However, the inability of government agencies
to effectively combat kidnapping has left Nigerians across
all social classes living in fear and insecurity comparables
to terrorist threats. The crime has had severe consequences
on individuals, families, businesses, educational
institutions, and government establishments, resulting in
the loss of property, monetary wealth and wasted time. In
attempt to deter kidnappers, the government has imposed
harsher punishments, including capital for convicted
culprits. The articles make analysis on the legal framework
for combating abduction and kidnapping in Nigeria. It
highlights the laws of abduction and kidnapping in
contemporary Nigeria. This paper adopts qualitative
research methodology.