Percy Onyeka
FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike has enlisted the support of traditional leaders to strengthen the fight against insecurity in the federal capital.
Wike said during a security meeting with the FCT Council of Chiefs and the chairmen of the six Area Councils in Abuja on Wednesday that the support was critical to winning the war against criminal elements.
He said that the meeting was to brief the traditional leaders on what the government was doing to curb the rising insecurity in the city and the area councils, particularly Bwari, Kwali, and Kuje.
He made the point that traditional leaders were crucial to upholding security in their areas and giving security forces access to private information to support their operations.
He gave citizens the reassurance that the administration was actively addressing the problems rather than going to sleep.
He said that in order to defeat insecurity, the government and traditional leaders must work together very well.
To bolster vigilante organizations inside their respective territories, Wike encouraged members of the Council of Chiefs to collaborate with the chairmen of the area councils.
However, in order to prevent making the already difficult security situation worse, he advised against hiring individuals who had a criminal history.
In order to make them known, they must be profiled. Who do they represent? Do they hail from our localities?
“If there are things you think we should do too, we are willing to partner with you so that the challenges we are facing now will be a thing of the past.
“You must work hard because insecurity is not written on anybody’s face. Anyone can be a victim, and that is why we must do everything possible to ensure that our subjects are not victims of these criminals,” he said.
The minister also informed the traditional leaders that the FCT Administration would continue to demolish shanties, which he described as the hideouts of criminals within the territory.
The Chairman, FCT Council of Chiefs, and Ona of Abaji, Alhaji Adamu Yunusa, assured the minister of the council’s full support.
Yunusa urged Wike to continue the good work he had started in the FCT.
Also, Mr Daniel Chiya, Chairman, Kwali Area Council, pledged the area councils’ support for the fight against insecurity.
Agency Report
