FCT MINISTER COMMENDS SECURITY AGENCIES FOR KEEPING ABUJA SAFE

…AS HE INSPECTS MAJOR ROAD PROJECTS SET FOR COMMISSIONING

By: Rabi Musa-Umar and Wisdom Acka

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, has commended security agencies in the FCT for keeping the nation’s capital safe and secure.

The FCT Minister who gave the commendation while speaking with journalists on Monday, March 16, 2026, during a routine inspection of critical infrastructure projects, noted that urban crimes like kidnapping exist in every major city globally, but stressed that the security agencies in Abuja have been highly effective in curbing such threats.

Addressing recent kidnapping incidents in satellite towns, the Minister stated that the FCT administration and security agencies have successfully foiled numerous plots that often go unpublicized and called for commendation and support for the security forces. He further noted that the rescue of kidnapped victims in Bwari was a testament to the ongoing efforts of the security agencies.

The Minister said, “There is nowhere in this world, be it any developed country, that you will say there is no crime. I don’t believe there is banditry in Abuja, but again, it’s a city where people will want to come and do all kinds of things like kidnapping. So, it will be difficult for anybody to say that in a city, you will not have one form of crime or the other”.

The Minister further urged the public and the media to recognize the successes of security personnel rather than focusing solely on isolated incidents. He said what was important was that the security agencies were taken the fight against crime and criminality very seriously and as such deserve the support of residents.

“As far as I’m concerned, they (the security agencies) are really taking their work very seriously and we need to give them the necessary support. We don’t need to always advertise one crime, when they have stopped about 50 crimes and nobody has come out to commend them and the administration. Each day, what we hear is there is one kidnapping somewhere… I think we should commend the security agencies”, Barr. Wike stressed.

During the tour, the Minister expressed high satisfaction with the pace of ongoing projects slated for inauguration during President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s third-year anniversary. These include the access roads to the Renewed Hope Estates in Karsana, the N16 dual carriageway linking Jahi and Gwarimpa, the full scope development of Kuje Highway 105 and the dualization of the Kuje/Gwagwalada road.

Speaking on the Highway 105 project from the Airport expressway to Kuje, also visited by the Minister, Barr Wike noted that the road project, when completed will allow residents to commute seamlessly from the satellite towns to the city centre. “Obviously you don’t need to come and stay in the city. You can come to work from Kuje and go back on time”, he said, and praised the contractors for the quality of work and commitment to timelines.

In a move to preserve the FCT Masterplan, Barr. Wike also visited a site in the Guzape District where a designated green area was being illegally converted into a residential estate and ordered its immediate demolition. He warned that the administration would not tolerate lawlessness or the collusion of civil servants with developers in land-grabbing schemes.

“This place was given as a green area, but from what we are seeing now, they want to develop it into an estate which is a violation. This is the kind of thing we have always complained about. People will use different strategies to get land from government but at the end of the day, they will do a different thing. So, we have to demolish it and we are also going to withdraw the approval he has because it was not given to him to develop an estate,”, the FCT Minister declared.

The Minister reiterated that the law must be obeyed to maintain the integrity of the city, regardless of any attempts to use court delays as a strategy.