Questions are being asked in many quarters if Abuja still remains the safest place in Nigeria unlike what it used to be, considering the wave of kidnapping, banditry and all forms of criminalities being perpetuated in recent times. SUNNY IDACHABA examines recent incidents and what residents feel about the territory.
For the family of Alhaji Mansoor AlKadriyar from Kwara state, but resident in Bwari in Abuja, this is the most traumatising moment of their lives as six of his children (all females) are presently with their abductors with one murdered as of the time of writing this report.
Those children who were kidnapped along with their father a fortnight ago were with the kidnappers until three days later when Alhaji Mansoor was released to go and look for the sum of N60 million to secure the release of his girls. While the man was running around seeking ways to raise the money, the kidnappers killed one of the girls and sent her corpse over for burial. As at the time of filing in this report, it was not clear what the criminals might have done to the remaining girls in the forest.
This is one of the several reports being heard in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in recent times. Gone are the days when Abuja, and by extension the entire FCT, was adjudged as the safest settlement among other towns/cities in the country. This is because, like a mild joke taken too far, criminals masquerading as one chance operators, bandits and kidnappers have taken over the roads in the main city as well as the surrounding forests bordering the satellite towns. Among those satellite locations vulnerable to kidnapping and banditry are settlements in Kuje, Gwagwalada, Abaji and lately Bwari area councils.
Sad moments
It would be recalled that in July 2022, a Captain (Attah Samuel) from the Presidential Guards Brigade, Abuja, along with four other military men were brutally killed in an ambush attack by bandits in Bwari following a distress call by authorities of Nigerian Law School that bandits were planning an attack on the school and the nearby Veritas University.
While the military responded to the distress call at midnight, the dare-devil bandits laid an ambush for the soldiers, killing the Captain and the rest of his men. That’s not all, a number of military posts situated along the Suleja-Kaduna road have been ransacked by bandits after over-running the military men in those areas with scores of civilians taken into captivity. The same goes for what the bandits do in Kuje and Abaji axis with countless abductions with concerns being raised that the trend has become rampant and too close for comfort.
In 2022, many boarding schools in FCT were forcefully shut down due to threats of attacks by bandits. At the moment, it has been a nightmare for residents of the territory since November 2023 with no fewer than 200 people allegedly kidnapped between then and now.
What is more worrisome at the moment is that while the FCT police authorities are battling to rid the territory of the menace of one chance operators terrorising road users, bandits are increasingly making daily incursions into the main city centre.
Residents’ concerns
Speaking to Blueprint Weekend, a resident of Mpape, another sprawling settlement sandwiched within Maitama district, Madam Joan Jesam, said Mpape is no longer safe as kidnappers and bandits terrorise them, rape some of them and carry some of them away to the point that policemen appear helpless.
While speaking to this reporter atop the flyover adjoining the Army Resource Centre in Asokoro, where she and scores of other women converged to protest the frequent incidents of kidnapping in Mpape, she said, “We came here to beg the military to help us because we can’t sleep again because of kidnappers and bandits. Before, it was in the night, now they kidnap women in broad daylight and the police cannot help us. They rape women and children, threaten the men with dangerous weapons.”
Mpape is a community that has constantly come under attacks from both bandits and kidnappers in recent times.
Not only Mpape, Dutse, another community overlooking Gwarimpa Estate and Kubwa, witnessed attacks recently when 10 people were whisked away by kidnappers from an estate located at Sagwari Layout last week.
An attaché teacher with a private school located closer to the scene of the incident who narrowly escaped told Blueprint Weekend that the kidnappers who donned military uniforms with guns invaded the estate around 7:00pm through a back gate of the estate and kidnapped children and relatives.
The attaché teacher said, “Hey, I narrowly escaped. I couldn’t believe that it happened in Dutse in the early hours of the evening. Nowhere is safe now and I really fear for some schools located in satellite towns.”
For this particular incident, the report has it that the kidnappers had their leeway for over 30 minutes without police intervention. Minutes after the kidnappers left with the victims by climbing the hill behind the estate; that was when the police reportedly arrived. As at the time of writing this report, the kidnappers demanded the sum of N500m as ransom. Among the victims were two children and a 23-year-old niece of the children’s mother who were on a visit for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Police’s reaction/action
Also, in the Bwari area council last week, over 40 gunmen reportedly stormed Kawu, a community within Bwari and abducted 23 people. Kawu is a border community between Niger and Kaduna state with a thick forest.
In this particular incident, the FCT Police spokeswoman, Josephine Adeh, confirmed the incident, saying, “Some unknown hoodlums stormed Kawu village, a border community with Kagarko LGA, in Kaduna state, and kidnapped people. The truth is that the miscreants raided that general area and escaped into Kaduna state.”
Worried by the incidents which have left no fewer than 200 people kidnapped since November, Adeh said, “The Command is aware of the news making the rounds about the alleged kidnap of over 200 people between December 23, 2023 and January 4, 2024, in Bwari and Kuje area councils.
“Consequent upon the above, the Command wishes to categorically state that there are pockets of abduction of persons in the communities mentioned, but the figure is being escalated to create fear and apprehension among the populace.
“The Commissioner of Police, FCT, in a continued effort to enhance the security of residents and prevention of pockets of abduction, on January 3, 2024, visited communities in Bwari.
“During these visits, he engaged with community leaders, assessed security situation/arrangements and took proactive measures by deploying additional police personnel and Armoured Police Vehicles (APC) with effort in place to extend the same to other communities in the FCT.”
Safety still guaranteed?
Despite the assurances by the police, residents are wondering if the territory still remains a destination centre for Nigerians from unsafe havens in other parts of the country.
According to Mr. Kennedy Asiegbe whose vehicle came under attacks from hoodlums on Dutsen Alhaji – Bwari road on January 1, 2024, “It seems nowhere is safe again, not even Abuja from the way kidnappers and hoodlums operate openly in many parts now.
“Security needs to be intensified on every street and corners now. See the way my car was destroyed. Their plan was to dislodge me and take the car just in front of the Government Girls Secondary School there, but I was lucky to escape.”
Another resident, Dennis Utang, told this reporter that the present state of insecurity nationwide should be a lesson to the so-called political class that there is no hiding place.
He said, “Abuja used to be a safe haven from violent crimes and that was why everyone, including failed politicians, run into the territory for safety, but with all these developments, it seems nowhere is safe in the country again. This would be a lesson for the corrupt political class who after committing crimes in their states run into hiding in Abuja with a view to be safe; now no safety for them again.
“Painfully too, they cannot return to their communities as before. It shows that the seeds they sowed have grown into maturity and the result is what we are witnessing. No one should blame the police because even the police have life and families and are overwhelmed. Politicians would cause problem and hide in Abuja expecting the police to protect them. They days of reckoning are here. My only pain is the fact that poor, innocent ones are also victims. If the corrupt rich are the targets, the society would be better.”
Waking up from slumber
In the meantime, after what seemed like a prolong silence in the face of looming danger capable of consuming everyone, the minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, within the week convened an emergency security council meeting comprising heads of various security agencies in the territory.
While speaking at the meeting, he assured residents of their safety, saying the government would support security forces with all necessary resources to combat insecurity.
He warned the area council chairmen against being alive to their responsibilities but stressed the need for security apparatus to re stratigised in their domain.
“All of us are aware of the security situation in the FCT, particularly Bwari and some other areas that have witnessed security challenges. Our concern is that for the FCT that has virtually every Nigerian, we owe a duty to make sure that this place is safe, to do all we can and we assure Nigerians who reside here, that there is no need for panic.
“We are taking every step to make sure that those challenges are things that we must have to resolve. So, this meeting is practically to look into such challenges and see how we are able to resolve the problems. And that is why we invited all the council chairmen, because they also have a responsibility in their various area councils.
“We will put our heads together and come up with solutions. So, for the press, it is just for you to know that we are not sleeping; security agencies are also not sleeping. We will provide every support that they require in order to allay the fears of the citizens, he said.
The question, however, remains; if Abuja still remains the safest place for anyone to live and sleep with both eyes closed?
