FCT Residents Raise Alarm Over Rising Cases of Kidnapping

Residents of the Federal Capital Territory and its environs have been witnessing an upsurge in kidnapping.

Last Sunday, the FCTA listed Bwari, Kuje and Abaji as the area councils that are worst hit by kidnapping.

The Director of Administration and Finance, FCTA Security Services Department, Ebele Molokwu, made this known during the end of the year media briefing on the activities of the department.

She said major kidnapping incidents in the territory were usually from those councils although there are some isolated cases in the other area councils.

She said the administration was determined to check both kidnapping and ‘one chance’ syndicates in the territory.

On his part, the Director of the Department, Adamu Gwary, said the security committee had been divided into two, the kinetic, made up of core security agencies, and the non-kinetic, involving the traditional rulers and other relevant stakeholders.

Reacting to the situation, the member representing Abuja South federal constituency, Alhaji Abdulrahman Ajiya, called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to deploy anti-kidnapping officers to flush out bandits terrorising and killing residents of the FCT.

Meanwhile, the Minister of the FCT, Nyesome Wike, has established two joint task forces made up of all the security agencies in the territory, in an effort to end cross-border banditry, as well as the activities of one-chance robbers.

This was announced in Abuja by the commissioner of police, FCT command, Haruna Garba, at the conclusion of a Security Council meeting presided over by the minister.

Garba said the FCT Security Council meeting discussed ways and means to flush out criminal elements in the territory, stop cross-border crimes and curb the menace of one-chance.

He also noted that a joint task force on cross-border crimes to tackle the issue of armed robbers, kidnappers and all forms of crimes in the FCT will be set up.

He therefore assured residents of the administration’s resolve to curb all forms of criminalities in the territory.