Wike: We Have No Reason Being in Power If We Can’t Protect Lives,Property
Approves two more police divisions for Gwagwalada
Chuks Okocha and Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
Federal Capital Minister (FCT), Nyesom Wike has declared that the federal government has no reason to be in power if it can’t secure lives and property.
He disclosed this yesterday in Gwagwalada Area Council during a town hall meeting on insecurity with stakeholders and residents of Gwagwalada.
The minister assured FCT residents of their security, while also announcing the arrest of some informants working for kidnappers responsible for the recent daring onslaughts on some parts of FCT.
“The President has asked me to come here today. The other day I was in Bwari and next week I will go to Kwali.
“Security is one thing the President promised Nigerians because his job is to protect lives and property. If we can’t protect lives and property, then we have no reason being in government.
“The President has asked me to assure you that he will not abandon you. So, all these criminals, be ready. Your time is up. You know if I say I will do something, I will do it. And now that I am here today, if you know you are an informant or even one of the criminals, the end has come for you. I and security agencies will follow you to the point that you won’t enter Gwagwalada again.
“Some of the people giving them information, we have arrested them. If they haven’t arrested you, it doesn’t mean that we won’t arrest you tomorrow or even before we leave this place,” Wike said. He vowed that the time is up for kidnappers and their informants, vowing to go after them.
The minister similarly urged the FCT Police Commissioner to work out the modalities of government urgently providing two more police divisions in Gwagwalada, saying it is a security matter that must not be bogged down by bureaucratic bottlenecks.
“The President has given me power to buy more vehicles. By next week, we shall give more vehicles to all police stations. We shall give them modern communication gadgets. The President has said he does not want to hear any story of kidnapping in Abuja again and the security agencies have promised to rise to the occasion. We are very serious. We are not playing. But we need your support too because security agencies cannot do this work alone. They need information. When you give them information, they will work better,” Wike said.
He also reiterated his earlier warning to FCT residents to stop crowdfunding for ransom, saying such action only serves to encourage kidnapping.
He said; “It is also not good to go on the radio to raise ransoms. It is a way of encouraging criminals. We know it is not easy when your people are in captivity but we have to avoid raising ransom. It fuels the activities of kidnappers”
The FCT Minister approved in principle a request by Gwagwalada Area Council Chairman, Abubakar Jibrin Giri, for the demolition of some uncompleted structures, which he noted had been providing safe haven for criminals.
Earlier, in his remarks, Giri had requested for the establishment of more police divisions, although the council had not suffered much attacks since last year.
He said: “From January last year to December, we here in Gwagwalada didn’t have much issues of kidnapping. We used to have before but with the synergy among stakeholders, it was reduced.
“We have some undeveloped structures and I will write to your office for approval because that is where criminals hibernate. I will write to you for approval so that we can clear all those structures because that is where criminals hide and launch attacks on the people.
“We also need more police divisions in the council because we only have two – one in Zuba and one in Gwagwalada town. We want more divisions in the boundary between Gwagwalada (FCT) and Niger State, precisely in Dobi. Also, we need one in Giri Village where there is a constant influx of people.”
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Meanwhile, rights activist and convener of Concerned Nigerians, Deji Adeyanju, has declared that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, must bear a significant responsibility for the escalating insecurity in the nation’s capital.
Adeyanju stressed that the safety and security of citizens should be of utmost priority for any responsible government, saying that unfortunately, the FCT Minister, Wike, has only displayed a nonchalant attitude towards the security challenges faced by the residents of Abuja.
He particularly noted that instead of taking responsibility as the Chief Executive Officer of the FCT, Wike was busy blaming council chairmen for travelling out of their Area Councils, stressing that the FCT Minister spent days partying and politicking in Rivers State himself.
According to Adeyanju; “Wike has refused to actively address the pressing issues facing the FCT. He seems to be more preoccupied with politicking and engaging in power struggles in his home state of Rivers. This neglect of duty has left the people of Abuja vulnerable and exposed to the nefarious activities of criminals.”
The activist specifically castigated Wike over the rising insecurity, kidnapping, maiming, and killings in the nation’s capital.
In a statement yesterday, he said that he was deeply alarmed and outraged by the rampant cases of kidnappings and killings that had plagued the FCT in recent months.
Adeyanju noted that the abrupt displacement of individuals, including scavengers and the destruction of shanties where disadvantaged people earned their livelihoods, has contributed to the current state of insecurity in the FCT.
