Most kidnappings in Abuja staged-managed, Wike claims

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday, said that kidnappings in the city were stage-managed by unscrupulous elements who were out to make quick money from their victims.

Wike who stated this while addressing journalists on Wednesday shortly after a closed-door meeting on security in the FCT with the Senate at the National Assembly, however, said there has been a remarkable improvement in the security situation of the nation’s capital.

After the meeting which also had in attendance the FCT Commissioner of Police, Benneth Igwe, FCT Director of the DSS, ADG Ado Muazu, and the Commandant of the NSCDC, Olusola Odumosu, the former Rivers State Governor said there had been a reduction in crime and criminalities in the FCT following the arrest of two of the most wanted kidnappers in the city.

“The kidnappings you hear, sometimes, are stage-managed by people. There are some internal arrangements,” Wike said.

“Take for example, you have a housekeeper in the house, you have a driver who will plot to kidnap the child of their master.

“In that case, what do you want us to do? All we can do is to see how the person that has been kidnapped is released.

“But to stop crime of that nature will be difficult because it’s an in-house arrangement, where a driver that is involved in bringing a child from school will mastermind kidnapping of the child.”

The Minister explained that though it was impossible to put a total stop to crime and criminalities within any society, he assured that the FCT administration was working with the security agencies to secure lives and property in the nation’s capital.

“Even the Senators agreed that security has quite improved in the FCT. There is no part of this world where criminality has been eradicated completely.

“What we are trying to say is being able to limit or reduce the level of insecurity. But if anybody tells you that as a society is concerned, you will not have one form of criminality, that is not correct and we must have to tell ourselves the truth.”

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