Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has stated that henceforth kidnappers won’t be granted bail.
Wike told the chairmen of the six Area Councils of the FCT to hold mandatory monthly security meetings to improve the security situation in their respective area councils or be seen as threats to the security of Abuja.
Wike, gave the directive during a security town hall at Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), in Abuja on Friday, January 26, asked to be notified if any chairmen failed to hold the monthly security meeting.
According to Wike, any council chairman that does not hold monthly council security meetings is a threat to the security of the council.
He said: “Gone are the days when kidnappers will be granted bail. I will not allow it again. We will ensure that the kidnapper is punished. How will a kidnapper be granted bail?
“Therefore, I will be calling meetings of all traditional leaders, meeting with all council chairmen and meeting with all security agencies.
“If there is no monthly meeting held in terms of security meeting in the councils, I should be aware, and I will hold that chairman responsible for any security breach.
“If you do your job, I do my job, traditional leaders do their own job, and security agencies do their own job, we won’t have problems.
“But if you don’t do your own part, I don’t do my own part, he does not do his own part, then we are bound to have security problems.”
He assured residents that the government would provide everything that security agencies require to help them to perform their duties.
Wike said that some of the security agencies do not have the needed equipment and operational vehicles to perform optimally.
“They don’t have the needed logistics and communication gadgets, yet we want them to perform wonders, we want them to perform miracles.
“If they don’t have information, they will not perform miracles; if they don’t have information no wonders would be performed.”
“Our is not to carry guns; ours is to provide information through the area councils, through our traditional rulers; and through my office, then to security agencies.
“When we give them information, they will take proactive actions,” he said.