IG Orders Tight Security in FCT as South-east Leaders Seek Tinubu’s Intervention 

*Police arrest 1,412 suspects, recover 350 arms, 4,055 rounds of ammunition, rescue 113 kidnap victims

Deji Elumoye in Abuja 

Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, yesterday, ordered tight security in the nation’s capital, Abuja, as part of the current clean-up process. 

That was as South-east leaders sent a request for help to President Bola Tinubu following rising insecurity in the zone.

Force spokesman, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Muyiwa Adejobi, said the IG gave marching orders to the Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory, the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), and the Special Intervention Squad (SIS) to “keep watch over Abuja.”

Adejobi, who paraded 20 crime suspects in Abuja, said police operatives  arrested 1,412 suspects, recovered 350 arms and 4,055 rounds of ammunition, and rescued 113 kidnap victims in the past two months.

He said it was part of an ongoing efforts to combat crime and criminality and curb the proliferation of illegal weapons in the country.

Adejobi stated, “We recorded several notable breakthroughs in the past two months, resulting in the arrest of 1,412 suspects for various violent crimes, including 548 suspects for armed robbery, 242 suspects for kidnapping, 365 suspects for murder/homicide, and 237 suspects for rape/defilement. 

“Notably, 350 illicit firearms, and 4,055 ammunition of various calibers were equally recovered from across the country within the period under review, while 113 kidnap suspects were rescued unhurt and re-united with their families.”

Similarly, five suspects were apprehended in Abuja for conspiracy and kidnapping. The suspects, Emu Larry Chidiebere ‘m’ 34, Samuel Balogun ‘m’ 22, Williams Banjo ‘m’ 28, Babatunde Femi ‘m’ 30, and Nneka Opara ‘f’ 32, were arrested for kidnapping a foreign national and obtaining a ransom of $2000 from his relatives. 

The suspects held the victim hostage in an apartment from May 30, 2023 to June 2, 2023. The suspects took pictures of the victim and forwarded the pictures and threat messages to the girlfriend of the victim in Zurich, who eventually sent them the sum of $2000 via Western Union on June 1, 2023.

In the South-east, as part of the leaders’ quest to restore peace and security to the zone, a forum of political and socio-cultural leaders called on the president  to urgently step in.

The zonal leaders sent an emissary, in the person of the Imo State governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, to Tinubu yesterday, requesting an urgent meeting to discuss issues around security and development of the region.

Addressing newsmen at the State House, Abuja, after meeting with the president, Uzodinma said the leadership of the region had seen the need to lean on the federal government to solve the security crisis.   

The governor stated, “The southeastern part of the country has been bedeviled with this high level of insecurity ranging from banditry, kidnapping activities of unknown gunmen, to the extent that most of the states, out of the five states in the southeastern part of the country, a lot of resources have been expended, community efforts have been invested, yet the problem seems not to be abating. 

“So the leadership of the zone met and agreed that working with the forum of governors from the South-east that we will come to Mr. President to formally request his intervention and additional support from federal government to ensure that there is peace in the southeastern part of the country.

“The people of South-east believe in the unity of the country and that’s an integral part of the Nigerian project, and also needs serious attention in terms of provision of security for our people to go about their businesses.”