Despite rising kidnappings, DSS director says FCT witnessing improved security under Tinubu

Despite disturbing kidnap incidents across the Federal Capital Territory, a director at the Department of State Services (DSS) says the territory has recorded improved security under President Bola Tinubu.

In the last 48 hours, several residents of Abuja have been abducted by kidnappers who broke into their homes and whisked them away.

Daily Trust had reported how gunmen in military uniform raided Dawaki community in Abuja, and abducted at least 20 people.

Dawaki, a heavily populated neighbourhood, where thousands of workers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) live, is located opposite the Gwarinpa Estate, the biggest organised single settlement in Nigeria, located along the Abuja-Kubwa Expressway.

But Adamu Gwary, a DSS Director and Fellow of Defence College, told NAN while assessing the performance of Tinubu-led administration on security in the FCT, that the impact was impressive, considering the reduced incidents of security breaches.

According to him, the security situation has significantly improved since Nyesom Wike assumed office as the FCT Minister in August 2023.

“We receive not only a situational report from security agencies, but from members of the public. In the past, it used to be a daily affair where you will hear there are these issues, there are those issues, here and there, within the city, the environs, and the suburbs of the FCT. But today, sometimes a whole week will pass without any report.
“We have an interface with traditional rulers, who give us intelligence reports, which we process and forward to responsible security agencies, but this has really died down.

“Also, if you recall, the issue of theft of manhood was at its peak at the commencement of the Tinubu-led Administration, but that has been completely addressed. This is not to say that we are there, but the improvement is very visible in terms of the reduced number of reported cases of criminal activities.”

He attributed the successes to the proactiveness of the FCT minister through intensive community engagement and provision of logistics and equipment support to security agencies.

He recalled that Wike had organised town hall meetings across the six Area Council of the FCT, where he and security agencies interacted with community members on their active participation in addressing insecurity.

“The minister had equally provided vehicles to traditional rulers across the FCT to enable them to move around their domain and mobilise their subjects to support ongoing security efforts.

“This is with a view to take security to the doorsteps of the residents and assure them of the FCT Administration’s readiness to support security agencies to do their work.
“These have really paid off,” he said.

Gwary added that the minister equally set up security task forces to address heinous crime, like kidnapping the dreaded one chance criminal activities.

Residents of Abuja believe that of recent, there is a resurgence of attacks by sundry criminals around the seat of power, after they went underground following serious operations between February and March, this year.

The operations by combined security forces were in response to public outrage following the January 2, abduction of Mansur Al-Kadriyar, a father, alongside his six daughters, when they attacked their residence in Zuma 1, Bwari area of Abuja. 

The Al-Kadriyar incident, which led to the death of the eldest sibling, was followed by similar onslaughts by the bandits in many locations around Abuja.