The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has announced that President Bola Tinubu has approved emergency procurement of digital tracking tools to combat kidnappings in the territory.
Speaking at a media chat on Monday in Abuja, Wike declined to share specific details but acknowledged the cooperation of informants recently apprehended by security agencies.
He further disclosed that information obtained from these suspects led to the arrest of kidnappers presented by the Police at the weekend.
The minister added that security forces have successfully thwarted additional attacks, assuring the public that the government is actively addressing the issue.
Wike acknowledged past shortcomings due to equipment deficiencies, expressing optimism that the president’s emergency procurement approval will bring a positive change.
“So many facilities were not provided. Vehicles for the security agencies are not there. You cannot believe it that equipment to track criminals are not there. When anything happens, they go back to the office of the National Security Adviser or to 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 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 that equipment, we know how expensive it is but we had it and that was able to help us reduce the level of crime.
“It was able to track the specific phones not one that would say for example the criminals are around the city here. With that equipment, it was specific. It can track a particular phone to the exact spot or room.
“So, what we have done with the approval of Mr President, giving us approval for emergency procurement, we have been able to identify what each of the agencies need and we will be able now to provide them,” he said.
Wike further revealed that prior to his administration, the police had requested motorcycles for accessing remote and mountainous areas where vehicles struggle. Unfortunately, those requests went unfulfilled. “However, we will address them now,” he affirmed.
“Unfortunately, they were not provided but we are going to do that now. Security is not just these equipment. You also have to motivate the personnel. I don’t want to talk about the strategies because we are talking security now.
“Assuming Mr President did not approve this emergency procurement, we had been to the Bureau for Public Procurement since December to allow is to procure under emergency. If you do not and you have to go the whole hog of the processes, it can take you two months and that is not what you tell members of the public, that procurement process is a problem. No,” he said.
The minister explained that the basic thing is having identified all these and that the security agencies have told them this is what they require, and that they had to do the needful.
“We have even gone further to ask the state director of DSS about what they would need to tackle this menace. What kind of equipment do you want? Not that if anything happens, you have to run to your headquarters to seek assistance.
“Before you to your headquarters, something else would have happened. But if you have these equipment, you don’t need to seek approval of your headquarters to begin to seek equipment to track the criminals,” he said.
Wike stated that while the administration cannot set up its own security agency like the subnational entities, the FCTA would however establish a Joint Task Force with a full command and control structure as well as relevant equipment to be able to respond in cases fo security emergencies.
“The next thing is to set up a joint security outfit here where they have their own structure and equipment so that if anything happens the task force will know it is their function to move in.
“Yes it will cost us some funds and it will take us some time hut what is important is that we have identified that this is a lacuna that we have to cover,” he stated.
On informants, the minister said; “The efforts of our security agencies have yielded the arrests of informants who have told us what they were planning and you should have known too that we have also taken steps but we will not belabour that.
“All we can assure you is that you do not need to panic. Everything is being done to ensure the protection of lives and property”.
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