PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMPACT OF MASS MEDIA DISCLOSURE OF RANSOM ON KIDNAPPING-FOR-RANSOM IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA

Abstract

This empirical study interrogates public perceptions of mass media disclosure of ransoms and its impact on kidnapping-for-ransom in South-South region of Nigeria. The study employed the mixed-method research design: the cross-sectional survey design and content analysis. The population of the study for the survey was 28,153,979 (National Population Commission projected population, 2022) drawn from the six states in the South-South region (Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Cross River, Akwa-Ibom and Rivers) while the content analysis was 6,576 headlines of the six Nigerian daily newspapers - Punch, The Guardian, The Sun, Vanguard, Leadership, and This Day, for 3 years (2022-2024). The study anchored its theories on Framing Theory and Priming Theory to systematically explain the phenomenon. The findings showed that the Nigerian mass media disclosure of ransoms paid by kidnapping victims influenced vulnerable Nigerians to indulge in kidnapping-for-ransom. The study recommends that the federal and state governments in the region should reinforce local security measures, including community policing to check the frequency of kidnappings and implores the Nigerian media to focus on reporting broader security and anti-kidnapping efforts rather than prioritising ransom transactions to avert the negative consequences of luring susceptible Nigerians to the reprehensible crime of kidnapping among other recommendations.