The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has urged the Federal Government to take security and legislative measures to tackle increased rate of kidnappings in the country.

Its President Mrs. Funke Egbemode and General Secretary Mrs. Victoria Ibangasaid this in a communiqué issued at the end of the Guild’s fourth quarterly Standing Committee Meeting in Yola over the weekend.

They expressed worry over the increased spate of kidnappings, which they said could scare foreign investors and further weigh the economy down.

The communiqué reads: “The NGE expresses concern over the upsurge in kidnappings across Nigeria, which has unfortunately become a national menace that has negatively impacted on the social and economic life of the country.

“The Guild notes that the new dimension the vice has assumed was portraying the country negatively in the eye of the global community, with the potential of scaring foreign investors, at a time their contribution is crucial to revamping the country’s ailing economy.”

It condemned the abductions of notable personalities, including the wife of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mrs. Margaret Emefiele, former minister Bagudu Hirse, Rev. John Adeyi of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), a journalist Iyuadoo Tor-Agbidye, among others.

The Guild noted that kidnapping has almost become a daily occurrence.

“In the light of these occurrences, the Guild urges the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, rejig its security apparatchik and develop a pro-active security strategy that will checkmate the menace.

“It is equally desirable for the government to urgently evolve anti-kidnapping measures and legislations, to combat the current wave of crimes and criminality in Nigeria,” it said.

The editors called for the strengthening of the judicial system to engender speedy prosecution of kidnap suspects to serve as a deterrent to others, urging security agencies to be alive to their responsibilities.