The Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the Nigeria Police Force was making concerted efforts to address the recent spike in kidnapping and other crimes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Mr Adejobi said this while addressing journalists on the operations of the Department of Force Intelligence Tactical Teams (DFI-IRT) and Department of Force Intelligence Special Tactical Squad (DFI-STS), on Wednesday in Abuja.

He acknowledged that there were isolated cases of kidnapping in the territory, adding that the commissioner of police in charge of FCT had been summoned by the inspector-general of police on the challenges.

“The IGP has taken the bull by the horns to involve the governments of Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kogi and the FCT to have a joint meeting, possibly to have joint operations to tackle the menace of kidnapping in the federal capital.

Mr Adejobi said the FCT security task force has been moving around in convoys of large vehicles on a daily basis to track criminals and instil confidence in the residents.

“They have raided a large number of miscreants who are always profiled, but it is important for you to know that everybody wants to live in the capital territory.

“I think with the new leadership in the FCT, the minister who is very active about it and talking with the IGP, and with the efforts of the IGP and other heads of security agencies, it is going to be a different ball game entirely.

“Abuja is going to be very safe,” he assured.

Mr Adejobi called on residents to be vigilant and not keep quiet when they see any unusual movement or strange faces in their communities.

He said there was need for everyone to come together to protect lives and property and fortify the FCT.

On the issue of missing private organs, Mr Adejobi said there were no verified records of such incidents so far.

According to him, nobody has been able to substantiate the fact that there was such incident in the FCT.

He however said the DFI-IRT and DFI-STS had arrested 54 suspects for offences ranging from kidnapping, murder, theft and armed robbery in the territory.

Mr Adejobi added that some of the suspects were already facing prosecution in court.

According to him, 92 firearms, 760 live ammunition, 14 vehicles, one forged document, 120 magazines, two IEDs, one suicide belt and fake 970,000 U.S. dollars were recovered during the operations.

(NAN)