‘Your time is up,’ Wike tells kidnappers terrorising FCT

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has vowed that it is the end of the road for kidnappers terrorising some parts of the FCT, saying that some informants working for them have been arrested. Wike, who disclosed this on Friday during a town hall meeting with various stakeholders, including residents, in Gwagwalada town, […]

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has vowed that it is the end of the road for kidnappers terrorising some parts of the FCT, saying that some informants working for them have been arrested.

Wike, who disclosed this on Friday during a town hall meeting with various stakeholders, including residents, in Gwagwalada town, Gwagwalada Area Council of the territory, vowed to go after the kidnappers and their informants.

The minister, who spoke in pidgin, said, “The president has asked me to come here today. The other day I was in Bwari and next week I will go to Kwali.

“Security is one thing the president promised Nigerians because his job is to protect lives and property. If we can’t protect lives and property, then we have no reason being in government.

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“The president has asked me to assure you that he will not abandon you. So, all these criminals, be ready. Your time is up. You know if I say I will do something, I will do it. And now that I am here today, if you know you are an informant or even one of the criminals, the end has come for you. I and security agencies will follow you to the point that you won’t enter Gwagwalada again.

“Some of the people giving them information, we have arrested them. If they haven’t arrested you, it doesn’t mean that we won’t arrest you tomorrow or even before we leave this place”.

Responding to requests for more police divisions in the council, the minister told the representative of the police commissioner to work out the modalities.

He said, “The CP should work out how we can provide two more police divisions in Gwagwalada. We must do this immediately. It is a security matter and must not be bogged down by bureaucratic bottlenecks.

“The president has given me power to buy more vehicles. By next week, we shall give more vehicles to all police stations. We shall give them modern communication gadgets. The president has said he does not want to hear any story of kidnapping in Abuja again and the security agencies have promised to rise to the occasion. We are very serious. We are not playing. But we need your support too because security agencies cannot do this work alone. They need information. When you give them information, they will work better”.

He reiterated his earlier advice to residents to stop crowdfunding for ransom, saying such action fuelled more kidnapping.

He said, “It is not also good to go to the radio to raise ransoms. It is a way of encouraging criminals. We know it is not easy when your people are in captivity but we have to avoid raising ransom. It fuels the activities of kidnappers”.