The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has witnessed significant progress in the fight against kidnapping, with a year-on-year assessment showing a notable reduction in criminal activities.
The Director of the Security Services Department, FCT, Adamu Gwary, revealed that the nation’s capital recorded several months without a single incident of kidnapping in 2024, a sharp contrast to 2023 when kidnapping and banditry were at their peak.
Gwary attributed this success to the unwavering commitment of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to rid the territory of crime, adding that the administration remains determined to sustain these gains.
Speaking during the end of year press briefing by the department, the Director said: “Before now, you would notice that sometimes on a daily basis, at least weekly, you can hardly see a week pass without having a report of kidnapping. Now, when we check our statistics, you will notice that sometimes a whole month you will not hear of that.
“This is basically due to the measures in place and the magnanimity of the Honorable Minister to support whatever we are doing in ensuring that the security agencies are effectively supported.
“More of such, all of you are living witness to what the Honorable Minister is doing in terms of provision of security and enhancing the provision of security, particularly at the rural area. So, for now, I can assess that based on the effort in place, the department has done well in terms of ensuring that the security agencies are adequately supported where they need such support, particularly in the rural area.
“In terms of the performance of the department, as the proverbial saying goes, when a lizard falls from the top of a tree, even if nobody will clap for him, he will clap for himself. Looking at the outgoing year in retrospect, there are a lot of changes that the department does in terms of executing our assigned responsibilities.”
Gwary also disclosed that the FCTA has introduced monthly statistical data on crime in the FCT, which is forwarded to the office of the Security Adviser for further action and crackdown on criminals.
He said: “Traditionally, we used to generate a monthly intelligence report, process them, and transmit to the Office of the National Security Advisor for other action. This year, we have done it differently by bringing our statistical information about crime and criminality, the level of success our security agencies achieve in terms of boasting of crime, armed recovery, and other activities of security personnel. So, all those put together are something that we have not been doing in the past.
“But this time around, we generate such things to ensure that at least it helps the administration in terms of assessing the performance of our security agencies for planning purposes. For instance, when we look at our statistical information to look at what are the crimes that are most prevalent, where the administration will channel its energy toward addressing them. And those are one of the areas at which such statistics have helped the administration in terms of fighting of crime”.
The director disclosed that the administration has also profiled vigilante groups in the territory to ensure that persons with questionable characters don’t gain access to communities.
He said: “I remembered that sometime in February, the minister said that vigilante groups will be profiled to ensure that those who provide some of these securities at community level are people that are known by the community members as well as the FCT and other security agencies.”
Gwary, who revealed that the Administration has collated a compendium of Vigilantes groups in the FCT, said the initiative helps in verifying vigilante personnel.
He said: “We equally establish a portal at which the department will be communicating with the head of the security, I mean, vigilante group in each of the area councils. And by doing so, we will know who are the organized vigilante group, who and who are not, so that we will see in as much as we are very much aware that this is a self-help project, this is a self-help effort, but it will not just be left for members of the public to just key in into it without being addressed in terms of ensuring that the right people are doing the right thing. So the administration is doing everything possible to ensure that the vigilante group that we are using is known to us.
“We have the compendium of all the vigilante units at the area council. And each of the units, we encourage them to have a compendium of the vigilantes operating at the world level, which will be transmitted to us. So, all this in the process before the end of the year, we assure you that we will have every single vigilante operating in the federal capital territory being fully documented, even if they are doing it for their own self-help.
“So, this is the situation, the profiling of vigilantes has been done and we are still doing it because sometimes some of them will either join us or even leave the city.”
