The news of the arrest of John Ewa, Aka Lyon, in his Abuja home; the notorious kidnapper that has been terrorizing the whole of Bayelsa state and other neighboring states is good news and as well a shocking one.
John Ewa appears to be a regular family guy, with a wife and a newborn baby. He does regular things; he goes to church on Sundays and hangs out with friends on weekdays. His friends will certainly have no idea that he is a notorious kidnapper. His neighbors will not have the slightest clue that he is a deadly kidnapper.
After the Kuje jailbreak in Abuja, the security operative released a memo that there are bandits, Boko haram members, and unknown gunmen scattered around the nooks and crannies of the Abuja city centre. The next guy sitting beside you in a taxi might be a terrorist, the next person seated opposite you in a restaurant while you are eating might be an unknown gunman, and the customer that comes to patronize you in your shop or marketplace might be a kidnapper in disguise.
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There is a call for citizens to be on alert, vigilant, and on the lookout. Do not hesitate to report that neighbor who lives a flashy lifestyle without any known source of income. Report that your acquaintance who makes some suspicious movement or suspicious phone calls, you could be saving your own life. Report that neighbor that is always bringing different strangers home at night. You might be saving yourself from a robbery attack.
This is the point club owners will have to put the safety and security of the society first before sales and patronage. It will help society a great deal if club owners start reporting patrons who they suspect might be involved in shady deals. The club owner or other legitimate patrons of the club might be the prime target of those criminals so the act of the club owner reporting is somehow saving himself and saving his business.
Religious leaders too should learn to start asking their members about their source of wealth, especially those that are always sowing heavy seeds and paying big tithes without any known source of income. This is also part of the pastoral job; Watching over the flock. The pastor might as well be saving himself, his family members, and the congregation from kidnap or robbery attacks. These terrorists have no limit as to what extent they could go in executing their missions.
Parents should as well ask their wards who drive flashy cars and live large the ward’s source of wealth. If what your son or daughter does for a living in every reasonable sense can not afford the kind of life the child lives, then it will be reasonable to presume that the child is into some shady deals and the best thing to do is to report to the authorities. By doing that, you are saving society from ritualists, kidnappers, armed robbers, unknown gunmen, etc.
Everybody must be on alert and engage in whistleblowing and this is how we keep ourselves safe from wolves disguising as sheep in society.