The Federal Capital Territory (FCT), had been experiencing relative peace until recently when kidnappings, armed robbery, and other social vices began to reoccur in various parts of the territory.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the seat of power had been experiencing relative peace until recently when kidnapping, armed robbery, and other social vices began to spike in the federal capital city.
There have also been a rising number of abductions and robberies in recent times. Commuters particularly face a growing risk of being robbed in taxis operated by criminal elements commonly known as ‘One-Chance.’ The impunity with which the criminals operate suggests a crisis in the nation’s security architecture and a more intense pressure in the economic circumstances of the nation.
For instance, on the evening of 2 February 2020, a fully loaded Toyota Previa bus was forced off the Piri-Kwali road by gunmen who shot at the vehicle. The increase in the crime rate in the FCT may not be unconnected to the rising level of youth unemployment in the country.
From investigations carried out by our reporter, it was discovered that the ‘one chance’ form of criminality is a situation where criminals will disguise as commercial taxi or even private vehicle operators and pick innocent victims after which the criminals will convey them to secluded places and dispossess them of their belongings, often at gun point.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP Sunday a resident of Karmo-Abuja, Mr Ben Obinna, who also narrated his sad experience in the hands of hoodlums at Akaraka village after Karimo, Abuja, said: “The harsh economy has rendered many people jobless and Akaraka has become the hideout of crime in FCT.
He attributed the inability of the police to deal with security issues to poor “funding, poor motivation and poor welfare package for the police officers.”
Also speaking, Igah Jeremiah lamented that Abuja is porous, adding that due to corruption, government security facilities that are supposed to be all over the city have either failed to function or were never installed.
Jeremiah however, expressed the optimism that President Muhammadu Buhari, is correcting some of the anomalies in the country, especially his resolve to fish out the bad eggs.
Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, also attributed the upsurge in crime to the poor economy, especially in the last four years.
“In the last four years for instance, the downturn in the economy had led to 20.9 million people losing their jobs according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), especially among the youth.
“The hardship is biting harder as costs of basic commodities including accommodation have skyrocketed. Inflation at over 11percent has eaten so deeply into the disposable income of the people, leaving them with little or no savings.
James Michael a resident who lives in Dape said increasing crime in the past 3 years has risen with homes broken and things stolen, adding that as at last night Tuesday all this petty thieves broke into some home, mugged and robbed people of their belongs.
“How about worries of being subjected to a physical attack because of your skin colour, ethnic origin, gender or religion In fact about 28 per cent. Problem are people using or dealing with drugs. What about problem of property crimes such as vandalism and theft, problem of violent crimes such as assault and armed robbery, problem of corruption and bribery even safety of walking alone during daylight.”
A resident of Damagaza village by name Mrs Cindy explained that just before the COVID-19 lockdown, a trader in the area was robbed and killed leading to the vigilante regrouping. According to her only petty thieves who chose unsuspecting victims can get away with robbery currently, even though some cases may hardly be reported to the police.
“It is common knowledge that many crimes go unreported in Nigeria because of distrust in the police, a lack of police presence on the ground, and a general feeling that reporting a crime will be unlikely to lead to redress. Over time this has also been the reason people just never report some of these cases of petty thieves,” she said.
For a shop owner in Dakwo village in Lokogoma district, in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), popularly called ‘Mummy Prisca’ , narrated her experience with thieves who broke into her shop and made away with food stuffs mostly leaving non edible items.
According to her, “These thieves in most communities come mainly for foodstuff which clearly indicates they might be leaving in the environment or communities. By the way, foodstuff has become quite expensive in recent times and poverty is rising which is a major cause but not excuse for crime,” she said.
A victim of the ‘one chance’ at Dutse Alhaji, Emmanuella Oga, who spoke with LEADERSHIP Sunday, explained that about three weeks ago, she boarded an unmarked car from Galadima junction to take her to her house at Dutse Alhaji, at about 6pm when she closed from work, but was instead driven to a secluded place along Kubwa expressway, before Dei-dei junction, where the criminals threatened her with dangerous weapons, robbed her and one other passenger of their belongings.
“The criminals first of all detained me and one other passenger and robbed us of our belongings. They also seized our ATM cards and tested it with the POS gadget they had, and when it was confirmed we had cash in the account. One of them quickly rushed to the bank while the other two detained us at gunpoint.
“They withdrew all the money we had in the bank before they set us free. It was a traumatic experience, I don’t know what Abuja is turning into,” she said.
Also Mr David Ogwuche, a social analyst resident in Dutse Baupma, while lamenting how his Toyota Camry 2001 Model car was stolen in March 2020, in front of Zenith Bank building, opposite Dutse Alhaji gate, explained that it is better imagined than experienced to lose ones precious possession to unknown thieves.
“However, when I reported the theft to the police, from the information I gathered, I realised that in that particular area, the police have been receiving reports of car theft.
“So, I expected that since they have been receiving reports about car theft at that particular spot, they should not be told before they will beef up security around there.”
He further added that he heard recently that a man who lives at Tipper Garage axis lost his new Toyota Sienna car to thieves, as he parked the car at the same notorious spot, opposite Zenith Bank to get something at a plaza in Dutse Alhaji. He suggested that the police carry out secret operations going undercover to mix with people around the area to arrest the criminals, seeing as these men of the underworld hang around the area waiting patiently for their next victims. Ogwuche further advised the police should be more proactive in investigations and arrests. He says crime is local and as such there is a need for state policing to ensure proper community policing.
He stressed that the security challenges in the FCT can be solved using creative intelligence gathering and incentives, that through intelligence, it is possible to understand how the criminals operate and locate their hideouts, because they are not spirits.
Also, a resident of Garki-Abuja, Ike Martins noted that the increasing lack of street lights in some major streets in the territory is responsible for the increasing crime rate in the nation’s capital territory, especially at the city centres.
“I believe that darkness aids crime. We have many major streets and expressways in the nation’s capital territory that do not have street lights at night. So, help criminals to operate at night, without being detected.”
Speaking with LEADERSHIP Sunday, the director, facilities maintenance and management in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Engr Omoniyi Olaloye explained that following the frustration he has been having in getting sufficient power supply from the AEDC, which has affected work, the department has introduced stand-alone street lights to take care of all the roads within the Federal Capital City that do not have installation of conventional street lights.
“Basically, the department is in charge of maintenance and management of engineering of infrastructure within the federal capital city. We manage and maintain infrastructure such as roads, drainages, street lights and other associated facilities within the city.
Recently, because of the frustration we have been having in getting sufficient power supply from the AEDC, which has affected our work , we have introduced stand-alone street lights, to take care of all the roads within the federal capital city that do not have conventional street lights installed on them.
“As we speak, we have covered so many streets in Wuse Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3, Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6 and Zone 7, including other places. We also solar-powered street light in Garki district, Maitama, Villa, Life camp area and all over the city.”
Olaloye added that the department introduced the solar-powered street lights to stop the embarrassing situation it found itself due to the crises in the power sector in this country, which has led to insufficient power supply and incessant power outages.
He revealed that the strategy of the department was to deploy the facility to areas where conventional street lights were not installed, especially where there are security issues at night, more especially dark spots, where miscreants usually stay at night.
He continued: “We are also installing solar street lights at the roundabout, which are places where miscreants usually hide at night, especially in the entire major roundabout in Maitama, Berger Junction, Area I Roundabout and this has seriously enhanced security there.
“This is the first phase of the deployment of standalone solar street light. Our intention is that as the national assembly continues to patronise us with generous appropriation, we will go into the next phase of it and begin to extend to other parts of the city where there are streetlights.”
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