By Ben Ogbemudia Abuja-
Residents of the Federal Capital Territory enjoyed a crime-free holiday during the just concluded Christmas and New Year celebration in the nation’s Capital. The celebrations went on peacefully without threat to lives and property.
Nigerians did not allow the political, economic, or social condition to dampen their Christmas and New Year spirit as they enter the festivities celebration mood especially starting from the first week in December.
No matter what the year has brought, people go into Christmas and New Year celebrations with renewed hope for the bright future of Nigeria. The festivity was low-key for some, and others still explored fun to the maximum.
For some, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 defined how they spent the seasonal celebrations.
However, Nigerians have concerns they wish their leaders and government could address, to have fulfilled celebrations, and look forward to 2022 with hope and optimism. These concerns emanate from the yearly experience of people as Christmas celebrations draw near, and these issues have been a recurring decimal in Nigeria during the infamous ember months. Top on the list is insecurity.
Although there have always been fears of insecurity during Christmas periods in the past because of a sense of heightened quest to make money legitimately and unscrupulous among many people, especially the youths, the desire to show off with the latest gadgets, toys, cars, clothes, and other accoutrements of ostentation pushes many to engage in various forms of criminality. “We had hitch-free Christmas celebrations across the Area councils and no arrests were made before, during, and after the festivities, according to Sunday Babaji, the FCT Commissioner of Police.
The police boss commended the residents in the state for cooperating with security personnel operating in the FCT. He called on residents to continue to support the efforts of the command by providing useful and timely information that would assist in preventing crime and apprehending criminal elements.
Babaji noted that the security measures put in place across the FCT by the command in conjunction with other security agencies would enable residents to move on with their legitimate businesses without any hindrance.
When ThisNigeria asked him to comment on security challenges in the FCT, he said, “I don’t think we have had banditry in the city centre. We have had challenges in our border communities. Rubochi axis, Kabimonguro in Kuje. Of late, the one we had is that of Tunga Maje. Let me tell you; in all of these instances, the geographical terrain is a very difficult one.
“But that notwithstanding, we felt that this is a very serious challenge that we should all ensure that we counter. Therefore, what we have done is that we have chosen significant settlements within all these areas that we are talking about and have had a physical deployment of our personnel there to ensure that our presence is felt and that we impact meaningfully security-wise in these areas.
“Talking about the increase in crime, you may have noticed one or two cases where people come out to complain. Normally, it is a difficult period for us. ”ember months” are a difficult period for us. But we have taken that into cognisance; we have been able to plan properly. We have enhanced our deployment; our anti-crime activity; our patrol, both covert and overt.
“These are all intensified. This is the period where people want to increase their struggle trying to make a living because of the Christmas celebrations as well as the New Year. You find out that there is an increase in criminality. But we have taken this into cognisance. We have been able to deploy more anti-crime patrols as a measure to deal with crime. This has ensured that the relative stability enjoyed in Abuja is maintained.”
Meanwhile, there have been 69 kidnap victims within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the past 11 months. Ten of the victims were abducted on January, 13 in February, eight in March, and seven in April.
According to records available to an NGO, Security trackers says in May, at least four victims were kidnapped, and an internal memo by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali Baba had tasked commissioners of Police in the FCT and Jos to be on the alert over possible Boko Haram attacks in both areas.
As fear became more palpable in the FCT, Babaji had released a statement that the memo was a deliberate proactive measure to safeguard the areas, thereby reassuring the residents of safety.
But the kidnappings continued with 10 victims in June, one in July, four in August, and five in September. At least a victim was abducted in October and six others in November.
In early November, heavy gridlock along the Mararaba/Nyanya axis of the FCT was caused by stop-and-search operations carried out by security operatives, including members of the Nigerian Army.
Spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, Onyema Nwachukwu, had said the exercise was part of routine operations to ensure peace in the country, but according to information received by the military had it that some [terrorists] planned to infiltrate the city through the Abuja-Keffi Expressway.
Based on the activities within the FCT, some stakeholders predict even gloomier days for residents of the FCT.
Security analyst Ben Okezie said the activities of kidnappers in the FCT resulted from the crackdown on terrorists by the military in contiguous states.
“What is happening is that the military is flushing them out from these states. The Police have to be on guard and make sure they don’t come into the FCT.
“If not, there will be an incursion. They will move into Abuja city, carry out kidnappings and move back into the bushes where they are, and you know Abuja is surrounded by hills,” he said.
To prevent this, Okezie recommended the installation of surveillance cameras in strategic areas of the FCT for close monitoring of activities within the city.
“We should have balloon CCTV in all the hills to make sure that they fully take vision of what goes on in Abuja. “As we stepped into Christmas, bandits needed money to celebrate too. I foresee a situation where they will kidnap more women for pleasure this festive season. This is what I envisage and if we don’t take time, it will start happening,” he said.
He also urged the Police to remain vigilant in monitoring incoming vehicles into the city to fish out the perpetrators of the attacks ahead of time.
However, the Public Relations Officer of the FCT Police Command, Josephine Adeh said there was no increased kidnapping in the nation’s capital and described the city as very safe. “I disagree with you. The FCT has been very peaceful, and in recent times there has been no issue of kidnapping anywhere in the FCT.
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“That is because we have been working in synergy with the Department of State Service (DSS), the military, and other security agencies. I can confidently tell you that there is nothing like a rise in kidnapping in the FCT,” she said.
