Reps Ask ONSA To Support Security Agencies With Vehicles, Gadgets

The House of Representatives has urged the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) to provide patrol vehicles and gadgets to the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) security agencies to enhance the provision of adequate security services within the nation’s capital.

This was in addition to adopting a motion sponsored by the member representing the AMAC/Bwari federal constituency of FCT, Hon. Joshua Chinedu Obika(LP), at the plenary yesterday.

Presenting the motion, Obika said there had been increasing security challenges in the FCT-Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, hosting the heads of the executive, legislature, judiciary, diplomats, and their aides and family members.

He said Section 299(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) vested the FCT’s legislative powers in the National Assembly, which calls for a passionate appeal for intervention by the House to support the provision of adequate security services within the nation’s capital.

The lawmaker expressed concern that the 2024 scorecard of the FCT Police Command showed 1,077 suspected criminals were arrested within the territory out of 1,426 cases reported, with 140 lives of police officers lost in the line of duty.

“Worried that recently, the FCT Police Command has identified about seventeen (17) criminal black spots in the FCT, which include the diplomatic zone, the new PDP Secretariat, Gwarimpa, Angwan Tivi, Mpape, Mabushi, and Maitama.

“Also worried that the lack of adequate security patrol vehicles and gadgets in criminal black spots within the FCT has led to an increase in armed robbery, targeted attacks, assassination, kidnapping, and terrorism,” Obika maintained.