The House of Representatives, on Wednesday, urged the Federal Government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser, to provide patrol vehicles and surveillance gadgets to security operatives in the Federal Capital Territory.
The House made this call after considering and adopting a motion brought before it by Chinedu Obika, the representative of the Abuja Municipal/Bwari Federal Constituency in the FCT.
The lawmakers stated that such provisions would aid security agents in ridding the nation’s capital of criminal elements.
The motion highlighted the shortage of adequate security patrol vehicles and surveillance gadgets in the FCT, which has contributed to the rise in armed robbery, targeted attacks, assassinations, kidnappings, and terrorism.
Obika also recalled that recently, the FCT Police Command identified 17 criminal hotspots within the territory, including areas like the diplomatic zone, the new PDP Secretariat, Gwarimpa, Angwan Tiv, Mpape, Mabushi, and Maitama.
The motion read, “The House is disturbed that the 2024 scorecard of the FCT Police Command showed that 1,077 suspected criminals were arrested out of 1,426 cases reported, with 140 police officers losing their lives in the line of duty.”
“The House is aware that Section 299(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) vests legislative powers of the FCT in the National Assembly, and calls for a passionate appeal for intervention by the House to support the provision of adequate security services within the FCT.”
The lawmakers emphasized the need for the House of Representatives to make a visible contribution in addressing security challenges by advocating for the provision of the necessary resources for law enforcement agencies.
