Insecurity: Wike Holds Townhall Meeting in Bwari

By: Wisdom Acka

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has on Wednesday, held a town hall meeting with FCT residents in Bwari, Bwari Area Council.

The meeting was called following reports of kidnapping for ransom and killing, which have recently escalated in the nation’s capital, in the past week.

The Bwari town hall meeting came a day after the Minister summoned all security stakeholders in the FCT to an important security meeting.

Abuja Digest recalls that gunmen recently abducted and killed some residents, including a 13-year-old teenager, Folashade Ariyo, who was kidnapped alongside 10 residents of the Sagwari Estate Layout in Dutse-Alhaji Area, a suburb of Abuja.

Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, a 400-level student of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was kidnapped alongside 22 others in Bwari.

The Minister revealed that the President had instructed him to provide security agencies with all their needs; vowing that it would no longer be business as usual.

His words: “Security is one of the key priorities of Mr. President’s administration. Yesterday, Mr. President summoned a high-level security meeting, which includes all the Service Chiefs, the Minister of Defence, and my humble self, because of recent attacks, particularly in Bwari.

“Security is one of the key priorities of Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda and we want to face it squarely,” he said.

“It is no longer going to be business as usual. Everything has to be done to protect lives and property. Without protection of lives and property, then we have no business in government,” Wike stated.

“My coming here today is to assure you that we are very serious. All those criminals, bandits, enough is enough. We will do everything in our power to make sure that we will not allow this to happen again,” the Minister emphasized.

Wike assured: “Mr. President has given me approval to provide everything required to the security agencies. And just like what Etsu-Bwari and Sarkin-Bwari said, it is not by merely talking, we are serious.”

Security agencies will not have any reason to say that they are not equipped; we will provide everything required. I know how big Bwari is, I know that you have boundaries with three states: Niger State, Kaduna State and Nasarawa State. I know because these bandits were chased away from the Northeast, so they are making their way here, we will make it hot for them”, he said.

Speaking earlier, Chairman, Bwari Area Council, John Gabaya, disclosed that the Council comprised 16 districts, and over 90 villages and hamlets, decrying that the size and difficult terrain of the Council make security challenges more difficult.

He, therefore, appealed for the provision of logistics to security agencies in the area, suggesting that, at least, one vehicle and seven motorcycles be given to each district for effective patrol and surveillance,

Gabaya also called for training of hunters and villagers engaged by the Council for their security.

The meeting was attended by former Senator representing the FCT, Philip Aduda, the Sarkin-Bwari and Etsu-Bwari, among others.