Ninety days ago, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, security council, chaired by the Minister, Nyesom Wike, announced the establishment of a Joint Task Force to tackle insecurity in the Capital Territory. The aim of the joint task force, which comprises all security agencies, is to tackle issues of armed robbery, kidnapping and all forms of crimes in the FCT.
Wike had this to say after setting up the JTF: “We set up a task force on those states that we have borders with. The joint security task force, including the SSS, the police, the army, and the navy, has identified the way they will operate.
“To tell you that we are concerned, that is why we have to set up this joint task force for one-chance and border control.
“Again, you see a lot of illegal motor parks. When we come up with a policy that we can’t allow these illegal motor parks, people will come up to say the economy is hard, things are tough but nobody wants to look at it from the security implications. We are also planning to shut down some of these illegal motor parks.”
Months after the announcement by the Minister, many residents said the activities of criminals have not abated. Especially given the activities that happened some days ago where kidnappers abducted a family of six in Abuja demanding over N60 million before their release.
According to media reports, one of the abducted siblings, Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, was murdered by the kidnappers to force the family to pay the ransom. The killing of Nabeeha has drawn country-wide condemnation, with the #Najeebahandhersisters trending on X.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar also recently jumped on the trend. In a post, Atiku said the incident showed that bandits were operating freely in the country.
“I am saddened by reports of the brutal murder of Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, who was abducted with her siblings and has been in the custody of their abductors for almost two weeks.
“This is yet another reminder that kidnappers and bandits are operating unhindered in our country. The security architecture needs to be rejigged to the extent that it stems from the free rein of criminal elements and guarantees the safety of lives and property.
“The security agencies should step up action to rescue the rest who are still in the custody of the kidnappers,” the post read.
While the case of Nabeeha has become popular, however, this sort of crime has become a norm and everyday thing in the city centre and satellite towns, raising concern among residents.
On Monday, (yesterday), it was reported that kidnappers who abducted ten persons from Sagwari Layout Estate Dutse, Abuja, killed three of their victims. Recall that the daredevil gunmen had on January 7 invaded the estate with highly sophisticated weapons and abducted at least ten persons.
Reports emerged on Monday that the terrorists have killed three of the ten victims to send a strong warning to their relatives negotiating ransom payment. They reportedly increased their demand from the initial N60 million per person to N100 million, now totalling N700 million.
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