Leading Civil Rights Advocacy Group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has raised the alarm that the nation’s capital has gradually moved from one of the safest places in Nigeria to the kidnappers’ capital of Nigeria with frequent invasion of homes by well-armed kidnappers and the incessant abductions of Abuja residents in their tens.

HURIWA has predicted that if quick win actions aren’t implemented to curb the dangerous rise in sophisticated crimes in the FCT, Abuja may witness a regime of self- help measures whereby the residents could be compelled to take the law into their hands thereby occasioning lynch mob actions against perceived criminal elements found hibernating within their vicinities, or take up arms to protect their inalienable right to life because the right to life is the only natural right that when it is extinguished and deprived by an armed kidnapper, can’t be redressed or remedied by the court of law or by government.

In the light of the unfolding scenario, HURIWA has called on the minister of the Federal Capital Territory Mr. Nyesom Wike to remain focused in carrying out his mandate by putting strong, unimpeachable and result-oriented measures to restore normalcy, stability and security in all of the Federal Capital Territory and avoid the politics of distractions that he currently engulfed in with intense politicking against the alleged disloyalty of the governor of Rivers state Mr. Fubara to him as his godfather.

HURIWA said the increasing waves of armed kidnappings in Abuja has escalated since the inauguration of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration with reports of regular attacks by armed bandits and kidnappers who invade Abuja homes to pick up residents and disappear into the forests to await payment of ransom before some of the hostages are freed by these terrorists.

The rights group said the recent statement from the officials in the FCTA on plans to establish cross border joint task force made up of security forces drawn from the FCT and the neighbouring states, has remained a mirage just as the FCT police command has clearly become overpowered and overwhelmed by the daredevil kidnappers armed with sophisticated state of the art weapons of mass destruction.

Recalling some of the daring exploits of the armed kidnappers in October alone up until this December, HURIWA said around 26^th of October residents of Grow Home Estate in Kubwa, Abuja, were reportedly no longer at ease following the kidnappings that have taken place in the estate this year.

Earlier in March, it was reported how gunmen who appeared like armed robbers stormed the estate on a Friday evening, stole some valuables and kidnapped 15 residents.

On October 26, more than seven months after the incident, armed men attacked the estate again and kidnapped three residents from two different apartments in the estate even as report emerged that the gunmen took the residents away after breaking down the fence to gain entry to the compound.

HURIWA quoting media report said that immediately some of the survivors of the first incident in March were released after spending about N12 million on ransom, they vacated the estate. The Rights group condemned the incapacity and the incompetence of the heads of security forces in the FCT and especially the FCT police command, to adopt intelligence based strategies to curb the rising cases of organised and sophisticated crimes.

HURIWA recalled that few hours back, gunmen abducted twenty-three inhabitants of the Dei-Dei village in the Federal Capital Territory’s Bwari local council on Saturday night. The victims, according to news report, were taken from their apartments within a single compound shared by tenants between 8 and 9 p.m.

HURIWA said that the local head of Dei-Dei known as Mai Unguwar While reporting the event to the media last night, Ibrahim Galadima stated that seven of the victims were rescued by a security vigilante from the neighborhood who trailed the kidnappers into the bush around an hour later.

His words: “It’s like the kidnappers who had left the area with their victims in three batches, have noticed our presence on their way into the bush and let the victims to go” said Galadima who described the affected compound as a new facility that was let out for rent less than six months ago. HURIWA said the remote villages of the FCT have constantly been buffeted by coordinated terrorism of armed kidnappers just as the police and the Department of State Services in the FCT have no solution in sight to combat these social crises that are turning Abuja to a criminal empire.

Around November 21^st this year, the Senator representing Delta North Senatorial District, Ned Nwoko, had openly expressed concern over the continuous captivity of his Senior Legislative Aide, Barrister Chris Agidy, and 18 others recently kidnapped in the country’s capital city, Abuja.

In a statement from his media office, the senator stated that he’s unsure of Agidy’s status after receiving reports that 12 out of the 19 victims have been allegedly killed by the kidnappers.

The statement reads: “It is with profound concern and heavy hearts that we address the recent kidnapping incident in Galadimawa, Abuja, involving multiple individuals, including the Senator’s esteemed Senior Legislative Aide, Barrister Chris Agidy.

“Approximately two weeks ago, a distressing incident unfolded where 19 individuals were forcefully taken from their homes in the Galadimawa area of Abuja. Upon receiving this distressing news, immediate measures were taken by Senator Ned Munir Nwoko, whose SLA was unfortunately among them. He contacted the Commissioner of Police who swiftly activated the OC Anti-Kidnapping team to secure the release of those abducted.

“Regrettably, we have received distressing updates from reliable police sources confirming that out of the 19 individuals abducted, 12 have been killed, while seven remain in the custody of the kidnappers. Efforts to ascertain the well-being and status of our staff, Barrister Chris, among the 7 individuals still held, are ongoing.

“From the onset, the Senator has maintained close coordination with the security operatives who have been diligently working on this matter. However, the challenges persist, as contacting the kidnappers for negotiation has proven immensely difficult. Their lines remain inactive, hindering direct communication and negotiation efforts, the statement from Senator Ned Nwoko concluded.

HURIWA backed the resolution of the Senate which requested that the FCT administration investigate the failed CCTV Project initiated by the past administration in which billions of taxpayers’ funds were injected but the security facilities were never installed thereby exposing the FCT to the vagaries of armed infiltration and all sorts of attacks by armed non state actors. The Rights group said it is surprising that both the ICPC and the EFCC have pretended like they are unaware of the subsisting contract handed out to a contractor for the building of formidable CCTV around the nation’s capital, but the rogue contractors and officials may well have diverted the public fund earmarked for this very strategic, lifesaving security project.

HURIWA lamented that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, the immediate past Rivers state governor, appears to be heavily distracted in his current infighting with his political godson the embattled governor of Rivers state Mr. Fubara just as the Rights group said the body language and the various media statements made by the FCT Minister on why he is engaged in political warfare with his erstwhile loyalist the governor of Rivers state, demonstrates a clear possibility that the minister is totally cut off from the realities of constant attacks by kidnappers targeting Abuja residents. This is therefore a clarion call and not any direct indictment of the honourable minister for any administrative failure.

“In the name of God, we in HURIWA, are begging the honorable minister of FCT to, may be, take a leave of absence and fix his political base in Rivers State so the minister of state can be tasked with the duty of coordinating the desired frontal battles against kidnappers or alternatively, the minister himself should pull his focus away from Rivers state’s internal politics or politics of attempting to impeach his former trusted loyalist whom he railroaded to the office of governor of Rivers state, and focus on the fight against criminals, terrorists and kidnappers in Abuja. HURIWA knows that Nyesom Wike is a man of capacity who fought criminals in Rivers as governor to a standstill. He, Nyesom Wike should replicate similar feat by focusing 100 percent on the FCT. Nyesom Wike should launch a massive operation wipe away kidnappers, terrorists and outlaws from the FCT.”

Update news