How we’re curbing insecurity in FCT – Wike

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Wike has said that the series of stakeholder engagements with the FCT Area Councils and the proactive response of the security agencies were some of the key factors that led to the curbing of insecurity in the FCT and arrests of the notorious kidnappers terrorizing the nation’s capital.
Wike, who spoke extensively on several issues concerning the FCT, during a recent media parley in Abuja, said through the series of security town hall meetings with the FCT Area Councils as directed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the FCT Administration was able to get the cooperation of residents in the fight against insecurity.
This was disclosed in a press release from the Director of Press,(Office of the Hon. Minister),Anthony Ogunleye, which was made available to newsmen.
“We took a lot of steps. One of the steps we took was to really make sure that we visited all the Area Councils to have town hall meetings with stakeholders and see how they can have a buy-in in what the government intends to do. That visit alone I can tell you contributed to some of the successes we have recorded today.
“Then again, we have a very proactive Police Commissioner in the person of Benneth Igwe who also knows the terrain of Abuja. He has been the DC of Police in charge of operations and he is now the CP and the area is not new to him.
“Within a week, we were able to apprehend the major culprits, those who are behind the series of kidnapping in the FCT”, the Minister was quoted saying in the statement.
He also reiterated that security is one of the key priorities of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu and disclosed that approval has also been granted by the President for emergency procurement of security gadgets for the security agencies in the FCT.
He added that the approval by the President has helped to eliminate unnecessary delays in the procurement process.
The FCT Minister who lamented that the security agencies in the FCT were not adequately equipped, said, “I told Mr. President that we have to do something and there must be emergency procurement of these equipment because if we go through the normal process of procurement, it takes you months.”
Furthermore, the minister also disclosed that the requests made by the FCT Area Councils for road construction and provision of police divisions to tackle insecurity were also being addressed. He said a provision has also been made in the FCT’s 2024 statutory budget for the construction of more rural roads in the FCT Area Councils to improve security.
He however, stressed that the fight against insecurity cannot be left to the government alone. He said residents must also provide timely intelligence that will help to nip insecurity in the bud in the FCT.
The minister whole reiterating that his doors were always open for genuine discussions about issues on development, said he welcomes thoughts on how to improve revenue generation and legislation for the development of the FCT.