The State Security Service, Federal Capital Territory Administration, has said the area has recorded improved security in one year of President Bola Tinubu’s administration. 

The director of the department, Adamu Gwary, stated this during an interview with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday.

Mr Gwary said, while assessing the performance of the Tinubu-led administration on security in the FCT, that the impact was impressive, considering the reduced incidents of security breaches. 

According to him, the security situation has significantly improved since Nyesom Wike assumed office as the FCT Minister in August 2023.

He said, “We receive not only a situational report from security agencies but also from members of the public. In the past, it used to be a daily affair where you would hear, there are these issues, there are those issues, here and there, within the city, the environs, and the suburbs of the FCT. Now, sometimes a whole week will pass without any report. 

“We have an interface with traditional rulers who give us intelligence reports, which we process and forward to responsible security agencies, but this has really died down. Also, if you recall, the issue of theft of manhood was at its peak at the commencement of the Tinubu-led administration, but that has been completely addressed. 

 “This is not to say that we are there, but the improvement is visible in terms of the reduced number of reported cases of criminal activities.” 

He attributed the successes to the proactive nature of the FCT minister through intensive community engagement and the provision of logistics and equipment support to security agencies. 

He recalled that Mr Wike had organised town hall meetings across the six area councils of the FCT, where he and security agencies interacted with community members on their active participation in addressing insecurity.

“The minister had equally provided vehicles to traditional rulers across the FCT to enable them to move around their domain and mobilise their subjects to support ongoing security efforts. This is with a view to taking security to the doorsteps of the residents and reassuring them of the FCT Administration’s readiness to support security agencies to do their work. These have really paid off,” he said. 

Mr Gwary added that the minister established security task forces to address heinous crimes such as kidnapping and other dreaded one-chance criminal activities. 

On logistics support to security agencies, the director said that the FCT minister, under the Tinubu-led administration, procured and distributed motorcycles to security agencies, including vigilance groups, to improve security in rural communities. 

He added that the FCT Administration had equally procured patrol vehicles fitted with modern communication gadgets, including combat protective gear. 

“Plans have also been concluded to procure surveillance drones and other equipment to enhance the surveillance and operation of security agencies in the city. These are all geared towards ensuring zero tolerance for heinous crime within the city centre and the suburb, which is plagued with the issue of kidnapping and the rest,” he said. 

The director described security as everybody’s business and called on residents to cooperate with security agencies in sharing timely and accurate information. 

“See something, say something and we will do something,” he said. 

The principal consultant at Edgard Consulting, a private security firm, Edward Orim, also said that Mr Wike, under Mr Tinubu’s government, had made significant headway in addressing insecurity in the FCT.

Mr Orim, who is also the chairman of ASIS International, Chapter 273, Abuja, an international security organisation, particularly lauded the current government for curbing the trend of kidnapping in the territory. 

“From my own assessment, I think the current administration has done very well,” he said.

He, however, advised the FCT Administration to do more to strengthen community policing, where everybody would be involved in assisting the police with critical information, including logistics where necessary. 

“Community policing is critical to addressing insecurity; know your neighbour and give information out to the police to help them do their job. There should be more awareness among the residents to be aware of their surroundings and security threats and work with security agencies to address them,” he said.

(NAN)