BREAKING: IGP Takes Notable Action as Abuja Grapples With Kidnap for Ransom, Details Emerge

• IGP Kayode Egbetokun has launched a Special Intervention Squad (SIS), to tackle the activities of kidnappers terrorising the federal capital territory (FCT)
• Legit.ng gathered that SIS personnel will embark on special operations to all the area councils in the FCT
• Recall that kidnappers had recently taken over Abuja suburbs, where they have been unleashing mayhem in places like Bwari, Dei Dei, Dutse, and Mpape

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 6-year-experience covering public journalism

FCT, Abuja - The inspector-general of police (IGP), Olukayode Egbetokun, has launched the Special Intervention Squad (SIS) in the federal capital territory (FCT).

Legit.ng learnt that the decision was to curb the activities of kidnappers and bandits, especially in border towns within the territory.

Kidnapping: IGP launches special squad

No fewer than 15 persons have been reportedly kidnapped in the FCT since the beginning of 2024.

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The victims were kidnapped in two major incidents that occurred in the first week of the new year thus depicting rising cases of abduction in the nation’s capital.

Barely six days into the new year, seven persons, all members of the same family, were abducted by gunmen around Zuma 1 in the Bwari area council of the territory.

Against the backdrop of this scourge, SIS would be in charge of patrolling and securing the communities within the various borders of the FCT, and intervening to curb and mitigate violent attacks in the nation’s capital, Leadership newspaper noted.

In an interview with The Punch, the spokesperson of the police, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, noted that the SIS will not operate like the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

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He said:

“The training of the SIS officers is still on, and the inspector general of police has organized training for the SIS Commanders, in a train-the-trainer course. One is ongoing, and another one will come up in Mexico, and the IG has given approval for that.

“The SIS is a very different squad, and the Standard Operating Procedures and Rules of Engagement are also different, and we are starting very soon.

"I can confirm that the IG added Katsina state amongst the 10 states, as the Katsina state governor met with the IG, and also donated some vehicles for the SIS.”

Daredevil bandits abduct people in Kubwa

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that armed gangs known as bandits attacked the zone 5 segment of the Kubwa Extension II Relocation Estate along Arab Road in the FCT.

A woman and her three children were reportedly kidnapped — including a six-month-old baby.

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Sani identifies cause of insecurity in Abuja

Legit.ng also reported that Shehu Sani, a former senator from Kaduna, said the deterioration of security in parts of Abuja is a direct result of the security situation in the states around the FCT.

Sani, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), asserted that Abuja cannot be immune "as long as its neighbours are infected".

Omokri kicks as kidnappers demand N700m

Meanwhile, another PDP chieftain, Reno Omokri, said paying ransom to bandits means "they are remarkably better funded than the Nigerian Army".

Omokri in a tweet urged Nigerian authorities to prioritise funding the military properly to tackle the scourge of kidnap-for-ransom.

Source: Legit.ng