Insecurity: Kidnappers shoot at moving vehicle; man abducted, wife injured

Kidnappers and terrorists, at the weekend, got more daring in their deadly activities, as they struck at the Sabo Lugbe axis, along Airport Road and Karmo district of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, abducting four persons in separate attacks and vanishing into the Kuje forest and the Karmo hills and bushes with their victims.

The incidents occurred between 10.30 pm on Saturday and 1.30 am on Sunday.

However, the Police, in response to distress calls, traced the kidnappers to Kuje forest, and Idu-Gwagwa hills and bushes, and rescued the four victims after a shootout with the kidnappers who abandoned their victims and fled.

This happened less than 48 hours after five Almajirai and two suspected members of Boko Haram died in an Improvised Explosive Devices, IED, explosion, suspected to be a suicide attack, another IED planted by terrorists on the Pulka/Firgi road in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno killed seven farmers in a commercial vehicle and injured seven others.

Worried by the worsening insecurity, a coalition of Civil society Organisations, CSOs, under the auspices of joint action group, Community of Practice Against Mass Atrocities, and Nigeria Mourns, yesterday, lamented that Nigeria is under siege, and urged President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency on kidnapping, terrorism and other forms of criminality.

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, yesterday, said that since inauguration of the Special Intervention Squad, SIS, in the FCT about a fortnight ago, the camp of criminal elements had been significantly decimated, with the arrest of 139 kidnapping and armed robbery suspects.

He also said that no fewer than 154 victims were rescued within the period. The SIS was set up on January 17.

How FCT Police, SIS rescued 4 victims

FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh while confirming the abduction and rescue of the victims, said: ”On Saturday, January 27, 2024, at about 11:30pm, a distress call was received at Iddo Division that sounds of gunshots were heard around Sabon Lugbe axis.

“Police patrol teams were drafted to the scene where one Blessing Eze was met with a bullet wound on her shoulder inside a Toyota Corolla car with RSH 724 KC, black in colour.

“Blessing explained that she and her husband, one Joshua Eze, were returning home when some hoodlums in an unknown vehicle double-crossed them, fired gun at their vehicle and abducted her husband.

“In response, IGP Special Intervention Squad , SIS, Police Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the command and other tactical section swung into action. Victim was rescued unhurt at Kuje forest on Sunday, January 28, 2024, at about 06:20pm.

“In a related development, on Sunday, January 28, 2024, at about 05:30 am, one Peter Ede in company of one Thankgod Ogunyi, all males, of Piwoyi, Lugbe reported at Karmo Division that on same date at about 01:50am while praying at Idu Gbagyi mountain, Karmo, some criminal elements numbering about seven, armed with guns and cutlasses, attacked them and abducted three of their members to an unknown destination.

“On receipt of the report, police operatives from Karmo Division, led by the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Abaya Haruna, swiftly mobilized to the scene, combed the surrounding bushes and hills between Karmo and Gwagwa, and engaged the hoodlums in a serious gun battle.

“The three victims, namely one Igbodi Emeka, Precious Uche and Eric Chukwuendu were rescued unhurt.’’

Calling for understanding and cooperation of the citizenry, the Police spokesman said: “The FCT Police Command is always committed and willing to work with residents of the FCT to defeat crime and criminality in all its forms in the Federal Capital Territory.”

How Boko Haram’s IEDs killed 7 farmers, injured 7 in Borno

Sources, including Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency expert in the Lake Chad region, yesterday, confirmed that IEDs planted by terrorists on the Pulka/Firgi road in Gwoza LGA killed seven farmers in a commercial vehicle.

The sources said the incident occurred in the early hours of yesterday when the vehicle conveying the victims ran over an explosive device.

“Seven passengers, including the driver, were confirmed dead, seven others were severely injured, while other bodies were shattered into pieces by the explosive,” sources disclosed.

ISWAP and Boko Haram terrorists have been resorting to desperate but extreme measures to fight back against the crushing intrusion of their enclaves by the Nigerian Military.

According to the investigation, the terrorists now heightened the use of IEDs as their major warfare tactics due to their weakness and depleted capacity.

These landmines had in the past days and weeks claimed the lives of innocent civilians – mostly women and children in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria.

The IEDs, mostly locally made bombs, account for more than half of fatalities recorded in the ongoing counter-insurgency campaign in the Northeast.

We arrested 139 kidnappers, rescued 154 victims in 2 weeks – IGP Egbetokun

Speaking on the impact of the SIS in Abuja, in less than two weeks, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, said: “The SIS working in conjunction with the FCT Police Command has also rescued 154 kidnapped victims unhurt, recovered 3 GPR chargers, two AK-47 rifles, one Type-06, four locally fabricated guns, one Berretta pistol, two Makarov Pistols, four locally fabricated pump action guns, 504 pieces of AK-47 ammunition, and 100 pieces of AA ammunition.

“Among the successes recorded was the interception along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway of three major suppliers of arms and ammunition to bandits operating in Niger, Zamfara, and Kaduna states. Similarly, operatives of the Squad on Friday 26th January, 2024, engaged some armed bandits within the FCT-Kaduna axis in a fierce gun battle during which three of them, including their gang leader, one Mai-Gemu (aka Gadoro) were neutralized.”

IGP Egbetokun made this known at the inauguration of the Special Intervention Squad Training for Commanders of the SIS to be deployed across the country, at the Goodluck Jonathan Peacekeeping Hall, Abuja.

He said: “Without mincing words, our country, like many other parts of the globe, is experiencing security challenges arising from the activities of criminal elements seeking to undermine the peace and security of our nation. This development demands instant and appropriate response from us as the lead agency in the internal security architecture of the country.

“The situation at hand has challenged our ingenuity such that beyond the conventional reactive response approach to crime management, we conceived the idea of the Special Intervention Squad, to serve as an elite unit of the Force, designed to anticipate, respond spontaneously and manage crises.

“The Squad was primarily established to confront every situation that threatens the peace of the citizenry and restore law and order across the nation. The initiative is pivotal to safeguarding the lives and property of all Nigerians while guaranteeing the supremacy of the state and the rule of law, thus protecting the integrity of our nation. “With the conception of the SIS, mobilization of officers and men, it is only logical that the men be given specialized training to enable them imbibe new skills and orientation, which will adequately prepare them for the task ahead.

The Force in this drive found a willing and dependable ally in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), an agency of the American Government, which volunteered to train the officers of the SIS.

Declare state of emergency on insecurity, CSOs tell Tinubu

To decisively wage war against insecurity, CSOs numbering 48 during a press conference in Abuja, called on the Tinubu-led Federal Government to mitigate attacks by kidnap syndicates and terrorist groups, and also account for persons missing in these attacks.

Speaking on behalf of the coalition, the Executive Director, CISLAC, Awwal Rafsanjani, said that several communities across the country including the FCT, Abuja are under heavy attacks, of which Nigerians are apprehensive and agitated.

Rafsanjani said the coalition is seriously worried as Nigerians are being forced to flee their homes due to attacks, kidnappings and other organised criminal activities, adding that the only option left is for the government to take the fight seriously to the hideouts of the criminal elements with actionable measures to stamp them out.

Also, the Executive Director, Cedar Seed Foundation, Lois Auta, urged the president to investigate the financial flow of organized criminal groups and identify sponsors and beneficiaries. She tasked the government to uncover and prosecute contractors who allegedly misappropriated the sum of $460 million earmarked for the provision of CCTV cameras in the FCT.

Lamenting that the wave of insecurity has taken a turn for the worse, the CSOs said “endemic insecurity has persisted over Nigeria, noting that in President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term (2019 to 2023), no fewer than 24,816 Nigerians lost their lives, and 15,597persons were abducted.

Alarming trend

“This alarming trend has continued in spite of President Bola Tinubu’s assurance at the beginning of his presidency in May 2023 to tackle insecurity.

“It has now been eight months since President Tinubu took his oath of office and yet, things have failed to improve. Our tracking shows at least 2,423 people have been killed in mass atrocities-related incidents and at least 1,872 persons were abducted since the beginning of President Tinubu’s administration till January 26, 2024.
“We are particularly concerned about the upsurge in abductions, noting that at least 230 incidents, in most of which multiple victims were involved, occurred within the first two weeks of January 2024 alone.

“Several communities across the country, including the Federal Capital Territory, the seat of government itself, are under siege, with entire families and in some cases, communities, taken hostage. Residents are being forced to flee due to repeated attacks by terrorists, kidnappers and other organized criminal groups. Kidnapping for ransom has become a disturbing norm, without appropriate response from the authorities,” they said.
Way out

Going forward, the coalition said: “We hereby call upon President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency on kidnapping and other forms of terrorism; enhance the country’s security infrastructure by conducting an audit of the responsibility matrix within security agencies and departments of government; bolster their capabilities and deployment of technology to effectively address the evolving challenges of insecurity; promptly prosecute the 400 sponsors of terrorism arrested under the Buhari regime.”

They urged the government to “uncover and prosecute those responsible for the misappropriation of the $460 million earmarked for the provision of CCTV cameras in the Federal Capital Territory; implement more decisive measures to promptly secure the release of all abducted victims; create a register of victims of abductions and other forms of mass atrocities; recognize and address the floundering economy, corruption and human rights violations as exacerbating factors of Nigeria’s insecurity; and engage citizens on best practices for ending insecurity, including disincentivizing the payment of ransoms.”

They called on the government to “provide holistic psychosocial support for abduction survivors and their families; promptly investigate and decisively prosecute all individuals implicated in fueling insecurity; and investigate the financial flow of organized criminal groups and identify the sponsors and beneficiaries.”