RESIDENTS of Mpape, a suburb surrounded by mountains adjacent to the highbrow Maitama district in Abuja, the nation’s federal capital territory, are currently living in fear of attacks from criminal gangs, phone snatchers, armed robbers and kidnappers.
Mpape, a well-known community is largely inhabited by low-income households.
The community is a highly populated area with a distinctive terrain. It is connected to the city by a long, twisting, narrow road that is mountainous and overlooks a large rocky area where granite has long been exploited by construction companies.
In recent months cases of insecurity and criminal activities like kidnapping, armed robbery, phone snatching and cultism are constantly reported
As a result of the rampant attacks, Mpape residents now live in palpable fear and tension. The area which is filled with shanties and bad roads is the complete opposite of the nearby highbrow Maitama district, where the high and mighty in the FCT live.
While some residents are left with no option than to cry for help others have simply relocated from the community.
Residents speak
A resident, Grace Abah who spoke to The ICIR said her family left Mpape after her house was attacked by armed robbers in May.
She said the family had to relocate from Mpape due to the incident.
“They came in their numbers around 3am and attacked us. They removed the burglary proof to gain access to our flat.
“We escaped through the back door. They were fully armed and took all our phones and laptops,” she said.
In a similar fashion in May, some residents of Katampe 2 a relatively new are in Mpape were attacked repeatedly by armed robbers.
Two of the affected persons who spoke to The ICIR confirmed that the hoodlums gained access to their apartment by breaking the kitchen door.
According to one of them, Idowu, the incident has left him and his family traumatic and in constant fear.
“It was around 3am, they held us hostage and collected all we have. It was a traumatic experience. They went to another building to rob them on the same night,” Idowu stated.
Another resident of Katampe 2 who chose to remain anonymous stated that residents of Katampe 2 and 3 in the Mpape community are under constant attacks from criminal gangs.
According to him, the lack of police presence in the community is another factor that has aided the activities of criminals in the area.
“Katampe 2 with all its population does not have a single police post. The citizens are left on their own.
“Once in a while, police patrol the area at night but it has not stopped the hoodlums from operating freely at night.
“We have vigilantes, but they have not been well organised in recent months,” the resident said.
Also referring to the rampant armed robbery attacks in Katampe 2 and 3, an X user Mum Favour tweeting from her handle @favored_g called the attention of FCT police to the crime level in the area.
“We have been experiencing daily armed robbery attacks in Katampe 2, Mpape, FCT in the last months. It is unfortunate that Abuja is not safe at all. We need urgent Police protection in KATAMPE 2/3. @FCT_PoliceNG @Dhavidote @Jossy_Dannyking @Princemoye1 @AishaYesufu,” she posted.
Findings show that phone snatching is another common security issue in Mpape.
In June, The ICIR reported that an Abuja-based journalist, Joel Waksi, was found dead on Wednesday, June 19, five days after he was declared missing.
Waksi, an On-Air Personality (OAP) with Atar Communication, owners of Liberty TV/Radio reportedly left the office around 9p.m. on Friday, June 14, and was supposed to return to work at the station’s Mpape office by 2 p.m. the following day.
The group general manager (GGM), Atar Communication, Balarabe Muhammad, in an interview with Daily Trust, said the police in Mpape division of the nation’s capital had declared that Waksi’s body was found near the Panteka neighbourhood and had been transferred to the morgue at Kubwa General Hospital.
According to Muhammad, the deceased was stabbed around his neck, and his phone could not be found. He said his organisation assumed that phone snatchers had attacked him.
Muhammad added that the victim had escaped a similar attack in which he had been stabbed below the belly two months earlier.
The ICIR made attempts to confirm the details of the incident from the police, but calls and messages sent to the Spokesperson of the FCT Police command, Josephine Adeh, were not picked up or replied to.
The Panteka and Beger Quarry area of the community is notorious for phone snatching and other criminal activities.
For instance, there were reports in May that a skit maker, Chidike Emmanuel, was killed by around the Berger Quary area of Mpape.
An X user, Loveline Imaobong, raised the alarm that Emmanuel was found lifeless in a mortuary.
“The guy in the picture is lying lifeless in the mortuary, he was attacked by Fulani men. Any lead to his family members would be appreciated. They should please go to Mpape’s new police station, Berger Quarry. Please repost till it gets to them,” she posted.
Imabong further disclosed that Chidi was among six persons allegedly attacked by the suspected herdsmen.
Police reaction
When contacted on the rampant attacks in Katampe, Mpape, the spokesperson of the FCT Police command, Adeh directed The ICIR to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO).
“Go to the DPO covering that area with this complaint, please. They are the ones to act. I have done mine by forwarding your complaint to them but you should go to them directly please,” she stated.
Meanwhile, a reliable police source told The ICIR that the Mpape police division lacks adequate manpower and resources to tackle the ongoing crime level in the community.
The source also said that the lack of a police station in Katampe contributes to the rising cases of criminal activities in the area
He added that to successfully bring the crime rate down, the FCT police command must send more resources in the form of vehicles and other logistics and increase the number of operatives in the division.
In January, the minister of FCT, Nyesome Wike berated the council chairpersons while addressing stakeholders at an emergency security meeting in his office, he expressed concern over the apparent lack of proactive measures taken to address the rising insecurity issues within their jurisdictions.
A few months later, in March, Wike was grilled by the National Assembly over the the spate of insecurity in the FCT.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance