Insecurity In FCT: PCC Member Raises Alarm, Tackles Wike Over Poor Updates
- Says 176 people abducted in two months
BY EVELYN DADU – With insecurity currently ravaging the nation’s capital, a member of the Public Complaints Commission (PCC), representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hon Ezekiel Musa Dalhatu, has raised an alarm that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, is not receiving proper briefings on the worsening security situation from the relevant agencies of government.
According to Dalhatu, this high level of crime and criminality is clearly shown in the fact that about 176 people have been reportedly kidnapped by bandits across the three Area Councils of Kuje, Kwali, and Bwari in the territory within the last two months
Dalhatu, who spoke at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, lamented that insecurity had risen to an all-time high because there seems to be a disconnect between happenings on the ground and the security briefings the Minister receives from relevant agencies.
He said this is as what initially seemed communal clashes amongst remote communities have now degenerated into a full-blown business enterprise adopted by rogues and their sponsors to further exploit the people at all costs.
The Commissioner disclosed that from his office, the PCC continues to receive daily an avalanche of complaints from both individuals and groups, including the Abuja Original Inhabitants Youths Empowerment Organization (AOIYEO), detailing the ceaseless cases of killings and abduction of innocent FCT residents by criminal gangs without any appropriate response from the security agencies and the FCT Administration.
Lamenting that the disturbing spate of kidnappings remains a major threat to peace and businesses across the FCT, Dalhatu said residents of various communities in Abaji, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, and Kwali Area Councils are currently living in fear not knowing how to contain the activities of the marauding criminal gangs.
Further noting the criminal elements are quite aware of the Armed Forces’ current security strategies to put them in check, the PCC Commissioner suggested that more proactive strategies, including reliance on modern technologies, should be adopted to effectively tackle kidnapping and banditry in the nation’s capital and across the country.
According to him; “Though we recognize the efforts of our security agencies cut across all levels for the commitment and show of force, we also admit the operational inadequacies these agencies are faced with, ranging from manpower, equipment, and irregular payments operational allowances.”
Also, urging the FCT Minister to declare a state of emergency on security in the territory, Dalhatu said it has become imperative to adequately fund and equip local vigilantes across the six area councils, adding that many youths within the FCT’s rural communities are willing to sacrifice their lives to defend their people, through effective participation as members of local vigilante groups.
