By Olukayode Idowu
Disturbed by growing kidnapping in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the Commandant of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the area, Olusola Odumosu has charged officers and men of the FCT Command to engage in active intelligence gathering to tackle the current security challenges.
He gave this charge during a briefing with personnel at the Command’s headquarters, Wuse, Zone 5, Abuja.
Odumosu said “the criminals are not ghosts, they are members of the various communities we live in.
“We must therefore intensify efforts by fully activating our intelligence architecture to identify them and ensure they are brought to book”.
He decried the influx of bandits, especially in communities located in the hinterlands and the fringes of the FCT, stressing that, their activities was escalated by the porous borders shared with Niger, Kaduna and Nasarawa States.
Odumosu said all hands must be on deck, and called for heightened collaboration and cooperation of his personnel with the people for a seamless exchange of necessary information to bring the fight against insecurity to a logical conclusion.
He said: “While our war against vandals is on going, we must beam our search light on the issue of kidnapping that has become the order of the day in FCT.
“We must work closely with FCT residents at all levels to get credible information and real time intelligence which is the key to any successful intervention.
“Without information to work with, there is little or nothing the security agencies can do.
“We must therefore do all we can to bring an end to insecurity by harnessing our areas of strength and using credible intelligence as a tool.”
The Commandant, while appreciating the Minister of the FCT, Barr Nyesom Wike for the support he is giving to security agencies in the Federal Capital Territory, assured the residents of an end to the current situation soon.
He said: “With the support of the Minister of FCT, and collective efforts of security agencies, we are going to put an end to kidnappings, one chance, vandalism and other forms of criminality in the FCT.
“I urge FCT residents to be vigilant, security conscious and to reach out to us whenever they see any suspicious movement of individuals, group of people or materials.
He noted that the security challenges are surmountable if everyone plays their part, while insisting that: “Security is everybody’s business and not that of the government or security agencies alone.
“All of us are involved and it is time to join forces to restore peace and security to the FCT.”
