Nigeria’s Ambassador Designate to Mexico Reno Omokri has warned that drawing public attention to terrorist kidnappings does more harm than good.
He said that publicity is the very thing terrorists crave and that well meaning public campaigns can actually reduce the chances of victims being freed alive.
Omokri said this in a statement on Thursday when he reacted to music star Davido’s response to the recent abduction of schoolchildren and their teachers from the Ahoro Esinle and Yawota communities.
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Davido had been seen in a viral picture wearing a dress that carries the names of abducted schoolchildren in Oyo State.
But, without directly spelling out exactly what Davido did, Omokri said the musician’s actions, however well-intentioned, served the interests of the kidnappers rather than the victims.
“Terrorists want publicity. That is how they spread terror. If you do not know about their terrifying acts, they can’t have the power of terror over you” Omokri said.
His position is based on both personal experience and some global guidance on terrorism coverage.
Omokri served as a presidential spokesman under former President Goodluck Jonathan during the Chibok Girls crisis, a period he says taught him a hard and painful lesson about the unintended consequences of international attention.
He recalled the moment former United States First Lady Michelle Obama held up the now-famous #BringBackOurGirls banner, which transformed the abduction into a worldwide cause.
Omokri said that that single moment changed everything on the ground. From that point, he said, Boko Haram found it far more advantageous to hold on to the girls than to release them.
Their abductors increased security around them and separated them into smaller groups, making rescue operations significantly harder for Nigerian security forces.
“Publicity, however well-intended, always works in the favour of terrorists,” he said.
He explained that global outrage tends to put pressure on governments rather than on the armed groups responsible for the crimes.
Omokri also drew on his four-year personal campaign to secure the release of Leah Sharibu, during which he met two serving British Prime Ministers, as well as the Prime Ministers of Canada and Spain, and several other world leaders.
He said he funded the entire effort from his own pocket and even released a charity single with the late Onyeka Onwenu and attempted a climb at Mount Everest to draw attention to Sharibu’s plight.
But senior security officials, he maintained, eventually told him directly that his efforts were making Sharibu’s release less likely.
He said he stopped the publicity campaign after that, following consultation with Sharibu’s family.
Omokri also referenced the UNESCO Handbook for Journalists on Terrorism Coverage, which he said clearly documents how media and celebrity attention on terrorist acts increases both the frequency and scale of such incidents.
On the current abductions, he said the Nigerian government is actively working to secure the children’s release, pointing to the recent successful rescue of the sister of former power minister Adebayo Adelabu and her children as evidence of the security forces’ capability.
Omokri’s appeal to Nigerians was that emotions should be put aside and everyone should rationally think about what actually works.
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