Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, yesterday, said President Bola Tinubu has approved emergency procurement of tracking tools to halt kidnapping.
During a media briefing in Abuja, Wike, who refused to provide details, revealed that the informants recently arrested by security agencies in the capital city were cooperating and offering actionable intelligence, leading to arrest of the kidnappers paraded by the police at the weekend.
He expressed the hope that with the presidential approval, the situation would be reversed soon. His words: “So many facilities were not provided. Vehicles for the security agencies are not there. You cannot believe that equipment to track criminals is not there. When anything happens, they go back to the Office of the National Security Adviser or the Force Headquarters. That is not the way it is supposed to be.
“When I was the Governor of Rivers State, the DSS told me they wanted a particular piece of equipment. We were the only state that had it then. In fact, sometimes the headquarters asked for its use.”
That is a special equipment they needed, and we knew how expensive it was, but we had it, and it helped us to reduce the level of crime. It was able to track specific phones.
“So, with the approval of Mr President, we have been able to identify what each of the agencies needs, and we will be able to provide them.
“Again, before we came on board, the police had said that they had requested procurement of a certain number of motorcycles to access remote and mountainous areas. Unfortunately, they were not provided, but we are going to do that now.
“Security is not just about the equipment. You also have to motivate the personnel. I don’t want to talk about strategies, because we are talking about security now.”
According to the minister, while the Administration cannot set up its own security agency like the sub-national entities, the FCTA would, however, establish a Joint Task Force (JTF) with a full command and control structure, as well as procure relevant equipment to respond to emergencies.
Wike added: “The efforts of our security agencies have resulted in the arrest of the informants, who have told us what they were planning. And as you may have known, we have also taken steps, but we won’t belabour that. All we can assure you is that you don’t need to panic. Everything is being done to ensure the protection of life and property.”
