THREE area councils in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have been named as recording the highest kidnapping cases.
They are Bwari, Kuje and Abaji.
The director of administration and finance, FCTA Security Services Department, Ebele Molokwu, in a media briefing on the activities of the department, said major kidnapping incidents in the territory were usually from those councils even though there were some isolated cases in the other area councils.
She said the three councils share borders with neighbouring states where kidnapping is rife.
Molokwu noted that the new administration had made plans to address cases of kidnapping and one-chance syndicates in the Territory.
The ICIR reported several cases of kidnapping both in the FCTA and other states.
A report by SB Morgan (SBM), known as SBM Intelligence, revealed that between July 2022 and June 2023, $387,179, translating to N302 million, was paid as ransom to kidnappers in the country.
Within the period the report said N552 million was demanded from kidnappers in the FCT while N13.8 million was paid as ransom.
The ICIR further checked the 2023 kidnapping data from the Nigeria Security Tracker in the FCT.
The councils with these cases are Kwali, Kuje, Bwari, Gwagwala, Kuje and Abuja Municipal. Between January and June 2023, NST data said that 123 people had been kidnapped.
Meanwhile, the Director of the Department (FCTA Security Services Department) Adamu Gwary, added that the security committee had been divided into two, the kinetic, made up of core security agencies, and the non-kinetic, involving the traditional rulers and other relevant stakeholders.
Kehinde Ogunyale tells stories by using data to hold power into account. You can send him a mail at jameskennyogunyale@gmail or Twitter: Prof_KennyJames | LinkedIn: Kehinde Ogunyale