Imo State governor, Chief Ohakim Ikedi, has blamed the menace of kidnap in Niger Delta area of the country on financial distress of the people in the region.

He said that some of the people in the region took to kidnap as a lucrative business perhaps because they had lost so much money to the recent distress in stock market in Lagos State.

Ohakim said this during a visit to the Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), on Thursday, saying that those who were involved in kidnapping might have done so due to depression that seriously affected them.

He said: “You may have noticed the rate of kidnapping which has been blown out of proportion in the South-East.  One of the things I needed to tell you is what people came from Lagos to tell us in the East.  They call it road show, asking our people to buy shares in banks and quoted all sorts of profit people will make. Our people sold their wares, some sold their warehouses and we were captured by volcanic market. People put all their money into that.

“Unfortunately, the market crashed and young boys got frustrated. We are trying to see how we can restore them. Our people have lost too much money in most of these banks stationed in Lagos.

“I will try to see some of these banks to see if they will contribute towards mitigating the security problem. I know Fashola will support me because he has a security trust fund,” he said.

He, however, commended the efforts of Fashola for creating an enabling environment for Igbo people to thrive in the state.