Many citizens are taking to self-help to combat the recent spike in kidnapping and killings across the country, especially in the urban centres.

Some residents of the Federal Capital Territory as well as Taraba, Kaduna, Borno, Katsina and Plateau states, who spoke to Sunday PUNCH, said they were making life-changing adjustments, including forming neighbourhood guards and vigilantes, to be able to resist the criminals who had shattered their peace and caused them unprecedented loss.

In the FCT alone, over 200 violent attacks have been recorded across the six area councils since President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023.

The incidents led to the death of no fewer than 87 residents of the FCT, while over 176 were kidnapped within the period.

The figures, which were sourced from Beacon Consulting, a local firm monitoring security issues in the country, and several media reports on violent attacks, showed a dramatic spike in kidnapping for ransom in the FCT and other city centres.

Since the assumption of office of the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, on August 16, 2023, there has been a rise in violent attacks in the nation’s capital.

The FCT is facing an alarming surge in insecurity, prompting concerns among residents and the authorities. The capital city, once considered relatively immune to the prevalent security challenges in other parts of the country, is now grappling with an escalating wave of criminal activities, particularly kidnapping.

According to a 2020 report by SB Morgen, Abuja was ranked 11th among locations with frequent abductions, a stark revelation of the evolving security landscape in the region.

Data from January 2021 to June 2023 showed that the FCT recorded over 40 kidnap cases with over 236 victims, who were either released after ransom was paid or killed even after payment.

Between October and December 2023 alone, there were 13 recorded kidnap incidents, impacting 80 victims.

From Gwagwalada to Kuje, Lugbe, Pegi, Abaji, Keti, and Kwali, the daredevils operate with naked boldness.

Vigilantes to the rescue

A resident of Kuje, who gave his name only as Michael, noted that while the area had seen relative peace in the last couple of months, residents were taking no chances.

He stated, “There haven’t been any attacks recently in Kuje but it doesn’t mean we will just relax and wait for that to happen. We are taking our safety into our own hands and doing the best we can to protect ourselves from this epidemic.

“We have employed local vigilantes to protect the area every night. And with this new police squad inaugurated by the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetoku, I’m sure we will be safer.”

A resident of Kpegyi, Mr Salisu, called for the sustenance of the police squad, noting that while kidnapping was on the rise, other crimes were thriving.

“I’ve lived in Kpegyi now for almost a decade. Kidnapping is the more popular vice, but armed robberies have gone on unchecked. We still have robberies, car thefts and what have you. I like that the security agencies have been gingered, but I hope and pray it’s not just a show that will last one month and it goes back to normal,” he said.

However, Mallam Ahmed Yinusa, who lives in Kubwa, said the show of force by the special squad was unnecessary, adding that community policing was the best model to combat crimes as it would be easier for residents of an area to identify strangers.

“I think the display was unnecessary. These bandits move in silence, why can’t the police? There’s no need to announce what you will do. You just go ahead and do it. However, I still think community policing is the best idea. That way, it is community-centred, and we can identify anyone who isn’t one of us,” Yinusa said.

Speaking on strategies for safety, some residents said their communities had erected gates to control movement, especially at night, while others had taken up personal security measures.

“In my area, we erected gates since 2022. Motorcycles are not allowed after 7pm. Cars do not access the area after 9pm. We may have to review that with these developments, but it is better safe than sorry,”  a resident of Karu, who gave his name simply as Adams, told Sunday PUNCH.

A corps member, who gave her name as only Favour, said she no longer goes out after 8pm for any reason.

“I just make sure I’m home before 8pm. Of course, these people attacked a compound at 7.30pm, but I think I will feel safer in a familiar environment than somewhere else. I might also consider keeping maybe pepper spray or a taser around,” she said.

A resident of the Area 1, Mrs Justina Okeke, said, “We are raising fences in my estate. We might add barbed wire or electric fences. For my kids, maybe they will start taking self-defence classes. We can’t take any chances. I cannot even imagine what parents of kidnapped children are going through.”

Roadblocks in Kaduna

Youths in Kaduna State have resorted to mounting roadblocks in their communities following the renewed insecurity in the state, Sunday PUNCH reports.

Checks by one of our correspondents in the state capital indicated that youths in areas like Sabon Tashi in the Chikun Local Government Area of the state had resorted to blocking the roads at night with used tyres as a way of defending the communities from the daredevils.

Governor Uba Sani had on several occasions expressed concern over the renewed activities of bandits in the state, forcing him to summon traditional rulers and heads of security agencies as well as other major stakeholders to a security meeting in the state to find ways to tackle the renewed insecurity.

At the meeting, the governor disclosed that as part of efforts to tackle the renewed insecurity in the state, he had pushed for the establishment of more military formations across the state.

He said, “I have been pursuing the deployment of more boots on the ground through more military formations. I am happy to inform you that very soon, there will be establishment of some Forward Operating Bases in the state.

“The Kaduna State Government is working with the Defence Headquarters towards actualizing these plans.”

The governor also directed the Overseeing Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs “to follow this process closely and provide me with regular reports on the establishment of the FOBs and other relevant issues which we are vigorously pursuing.”

This was apart from the training of no fewer than 7,000 members of the State Vigilance Service to complement the efforts of the regular security agencies in the state.

One of our correspondents, who went around, observed the youths, some of them bearing dane guns, catapults, machetes, and barricaded link roads with stones, while conducting stop-and-search operations of motorists entering their communities.

Some of the youth were paid through community efforts, while in some cases by tips offered by appreciative residents.

One of the leaders at the Ungwan-Pama area, simply identified as Ifeanyi, told our correspondent that each compound was charged a token as a security levy to boost the morale of the vigilantes.

At the Post Office Road junction in the Sabon-Tasha area of the state, some of the fierce-looking youths told Sunday PUNCH that they were rendering voluntary services as a way of “defending our community.”

At the Barnawa GRA area, it was observed that residents of the low-cost estate built during FESTAC ‘77  had built gates as a way of preventing intruders into the estate.

One of the guards manning a gate leading to the estate, said, “By 9pm, the gates are shut to visitors.”

Some areas are also manned by members of the Peace Corps. An official, who gave his name as Akpati, told one of our correspondents that the members were posted to the homes of prominent citizens in the state to secure their lives.

The State Commissioner of Police, A. D. Ali, called on members of the public to avail themselves of security agencies’ hotlines for any situation requiring prompt response.