Insecurity : FCT  Ministers committed to eradicating kidnaping in the nation’s capital

 

 

 

The challenging situation: The attacks carried out by armed bandit in some satellites towns and suburbs  have been another great major challenge of insecurity facing the Territory.

 

 

Many lives and properties have been lost and a large number of residents kidnapped, businesses are being crumbled, Families have lost their loved ones, many women are now widows, Children becoming orphans with no hope of what the future holds for them.

 

 

The present FCT Administration, led by Malam Muhammad Musa Bello is making frantic efforts to tackle all of these challenges posed by terrorism, banditry and insurgency in the nation’s capital city , to put an end to it but unfortunately, the rate of insecurity is still alarming.

 

From the foregoing, it is clear that any effort to grow the Territory’s economy by the Bello’s administration would most likely fail if insecurity is not properly dealt with. Insecurity is no longer just a problem that affects the security sector; the entire economy is at stake if something is not done quickly to fix this menace.

 

 

As we adapt to the challenges of a changing world and reposition our economy for growth and increased employment, security must be fixed and assured as a matter of economic priority and  national prosperity.

 

Insecurity has reduced the confidence of foreign investors in Abuja and Nigeria at large. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), FDI flows to Nigeria averaged $5.3 billion annually from 2005-2007. However, UNCTAD data shows FDI to Nigeria averaged $3.3 billion from 2015-2020, a period that has been marked by heightened and widespread insecurity in the country.

 

 

 

A strong and stable economy fosters long-term national security, hence, insecurity is a hindrance to long-term economic prosperity. Therefore, efforts should not be spared in bringing under control the spate of the general insecurity that currently afflicts most parts of the country and most expecially, the Federal Capital Territory which is the seat of power.

 

 

 

The vicious circle of insecurity in some of the Area Councils in Abuja has diminished public confidence as people are afraid to move around freely in the Territory; Mean while, residents of some of the Area Councils  have contended with banditry and kidnapping for a long  time. A colleague of mine fondly called ” Mama Pegi” aka Iya egbe, who lives in Pegi , a surburb of Kuje community hardly stays in the office before the official closing hours, for fear of being attacked by kidnappers.

 

Meanwhile, residents of some of the Area Councils in the FCT have contended with banditry and kidnapping for a long time,  pegi  is one of those places where kidnapping takes place on a daily basis without being challenged by any security agencies.

 

Sadly, the national headquarters of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (Macban)  has in a press release, condemns the gruesome murder of MACBAN Gwagwalada area Council, Alhaji Aliyu Adamu , his son and three other people by marauding bandits on Thursday, April  7th 2022.

 

Alhaji Adamu and the four others were said to have been gunned down at Dako Hamlet near Dobi village in Gwagwalada LGA.

 

The chairman was said to have been trailed by the bandits from Izom cattle market in Niger State .Four other people in the same vehicle with him were kidnapped and the bandits are asking for 100 million  as Ransome .

 

 

MACBAN views the increasing cases of activities of bandits in Niger and now the FCT as a great threat to the thriving livestock industry in the the two states; and ; and  call on the security agencies to take action against the ever increasing activities of bandits.

 

Action taken

 

In the wake of increased banditry in some states contiguous to the nation’s capital, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, summoned an emergency security meeting aimed at securing the fringes of the territory, some of which are now threatened by bandits.

 

 

Briefing the press, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Security, Ambassador Habu Habu Saliu Mohammed and the Commissioner of Police FCT Command, Babaji Sunday all strategies to curb the ugly menace.

 

 

On his part, Sunday said  the emergency meeting raised a lot of concerns about kidnapping and banditry in FCT suburbs; adding  that the security agencies also resolved to do their best to ensure the incidents were brought to the barest minimum.

 

 

He hinted that all the security chiefs will again meet in his office to further strategies  on what were discussed at the emergency meeting.

 

In his words:”We have deliberated a lot and have already put in measures, which are not good to air to the criminals as it will be to their advantage. But we have resolved among all the security agencies that we are going to do our best and ensure all those things are brought to the barest minimum”

 

 

“At the same time, we are going to improve our synergy –all of us, the security agencies- and as we speak, we are going to meet in my office on Monday to further strategies  on what we have discussed here. We have assured the house headed by the Honorable Minister and Honorable Minister of State, who were both in attendance, that they will see changes. We are also appealing to the residents of FCT to also see reasons and understand that by the grace of God we will be on top of the situations,” Sunday said.

 

 

He advised FCT residents to be security conscious and provide security agencies with actionable intelligence on criminal activities. He also tasked the residents to form small neighbourhood watch within each estate made up of people of good character, to curb criminality considering that the number of policemen are inadequate nationwide.

 

 

“We also work with local vigilantes to improve community security. We work with them hand in hand. They know the terrain. Anytime we have security issues, it is the local vigilante that we rely upon both in terms of intelligence and knowing the terrain. But they are always profiled and work in synergy with the divisional police of that area”.

 

 

In addition to that, no fewer than three hundred and fifty structures (350) were  demolished in a densely populated Bassa-Jiwa village, situated near the Nnamdi Azikiwe Int’l Airport, in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

 

 

Most of the demolished structures were residential buildings, shanties, batchers and kiosks sitting on the right of way (ROW), under train bridge, and pedestrian crossing in and around the Village, off the Airport road.

 

 

Officials of the FCT Administration’s Task team on City Sanitation accompanied by a joint team of security personnel stormed and cleared the said structures, for allegedly defacing and posing a serious security threat in the area.

 

 

Explaining the exercise, Director, Development Control Department, Murkhtar Galadima, said the about 350 structures removed were part of the 500 uncontrolled developments marked for demolition in the area.

 

“It is part of our regular  exercise to sanitise the city, and in furtherance of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport expansion project being awarded by the Federal Executive Council , so we are to clear all these uncontrolled developments before the commencement of the of the project. They are over five hundred in number , and we have  removed close to 350 , and we are coming to continue with the marking and removals”.

 

 

Similarly, Ikharo Attah, the Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring Inspection and Enforcement to the FCT Minister, noted that the area has a multiple level of illegality, as underneath the main train bridge connecting the Nnamdi Azikiwe Int’l Airport is full of shanties and the whole community has turned into shanty, and being security threat.

 

“The whole community is wrongly built, thereby defacing the area, as the community has been expanding extremely. Although, good people are in the community, but the bad ones have easy access to hide and commit havoc.

 

 “Even the chief and  some of the locals agreed that Bassa- Jiwa needed to be cleaned, and did that while respecting some of the previous markings we had in the community for resettlement and compensation of some indigenous persons there, those were not touched, but several others were not spared , as they were removed.

 

 

“We will keep coming back here, because the FCT Minister gave us a strong marching to actually purge all communities along the Bill Clinton Drive  Airport connecting Road and several others  around the city, to ensure that all shanties are cleared”, he stressed.

 

Most importantly, FCT Administration Transportation Secretariat has revealed plan to begins construction of 5.76 kilometers rail track in the capital city

 

The Mandate Secretary for the secretariat, Alhaji Zakari Dobi, made the disclosure when he inspected the vandalized Abuja Light Rail Track, Station and Idu Training Centre in Abuja.

 

Dobi explained that the secretariat was working assiduously to go back to site for the construction of 5.76 kilometers and fixing of  the vandalize areas of the track.

 

According to him, the total bill for embarking on the construction of 5.76 kilometers rail track as approved is 272 million dollars.

 

Dobi disclosed that the bill for the construction of the 5.76 kilometers rail track was before the FCTA Permanent Secretary on it way to the FCT Minister’s table.

 

He expressed optimism that the minister who has so much concern about the Abuja Light Rail would quickly return the file.

 

” Two things informed this outing. Firstly, to be able to again evaluate and asses the level of vandalisation on the track. 

 

” Secondly, to also look at the Training Centre at Idu Rail Station with a view to be able to relocate some Departments of the Federal Capital Territory Administration Transportation Secretariat due to challenges of office spaces in Area 11.

 

” What we saw was quite bad even though when I assumed office I have been briefed about the issue of vandalisation.

 

” We have intention to go back to site for the construction of 5.76 kilometers rail track in Abuja. The cost of the construction of also contain fixing of the vandalized areas.

 

” We have seen some of the fresh areas  that were vandalize and I want to believe that the projection made earlier on fixing the vandalize area will still accommodate what we saw.”

 

He said that the vandalisation occurred as a result of lack of operation, adding that  if operation was on constantly it would reduce the level of vandalisation.

 

He assured that the FCTA would fixe all the vandalize area to ensure proper utilisation of the already completed areas with the four Diesel Multiple Units on ground to put an end to vandalisation.

 

” We are going to look at issues to see if we can come up with possible ways on how to stop the vandalisation completely but I do know that the first thing to do is to resume operation.”

 

 

The primary objective of every government is the protection of the lives and property of its citizenry. If a government reaches a point where it can no longer fulfil this responsibility, the result will be anarchy.

 Way forward –It is therefore recommended that: Government should declare total war on terrorism, kidnapping and banditry, and seek assistance and advice from international communities who have in the time past faced this kind of challenge and were able to tackle it.

 

 

Security Agencies should work with local vigilantes to improve community security, Traditional rulers should also be given the responsibilities to account for the safety of their chiefdoms ; The entire residents must get to know their terrain and identify each other to be able to dictate when strangers invade their neighborhood and take necessary actions to report to the relevant security Agencies.

 

 

Most importantly, residents  should as a matter of urgency  form small neighbourhood watch within each estate made up of people of good character, to curb criminality considering that the number of policemen are inadequate nationwide.

 

The Police and Nigerian military should synergies and  be empowered with more sophisticated weapons and training to fight this insurgency. Government should beef up security in all parts of the Territory to curb the menace of insecurity