EXCLUSIVE: Abuja Kidnappings Politically Motivated, Say Intelligence Sources

• Powerful Interests Want Wike Out Of Office

Snippets and chatters gathered from sources close to the intelligence community in the nation’s capital suggest that the spate of kidnappings in Abuja may not be acts of random banditry with view to making money. Rather, DDM can report exclusively that strong political interests revolving on the choice of the Occupier of the office of the FCT Minister and other political matters are at the heart of the insecurity.

The spate of abductions have not only increased fear index in the nation’s capital, but also, the economy is believed to have taken severe hit. On the estimate, taken from just survey of 2021 and 2022, ransom payments is believed to have exceeded N653.7 million.

The majority of the security issues are borne by the businesses and residents in the impacted areas, and the effects on day-to-day operations and economic activity are becoming more noticeable. But inside sources aver that it’s not all about money.

Rather, according a number of sources the online medium spoke to, Abuja appears to have become the theater of political struggles that players in the corridors of power know and are trying to find a way around.

“On the one hand, it has to do with the current occupier of the seat of FCT Minister,” explained one of the sources within one Nigeria’s intelligence and ultra secretive policing unit.

According to the source who spoke without mentioning the name of the ‘occupier of the seat’, the spate of kidnapping is all about pushing forth an agenda to the presidency.

The current Minister of the FCT is Nyisom Wike, former governor of Rivers State. Some very influential figures from the north have spoken against his choice as FCT Minister citing religious affiliation.

Myetti Allah, an ethnic, socio cultural group, ostensibly promoting rights and way of life its people, the Fulani, in a viral official statement declared clearly their unwillingness to speak with Wike on matters of open grazing of cattle in FCT, citing the Minister’s love of liquor as reason.

Ordinarily, these sentiments suggest ethno-religious biases.

“But they are just ruses. No ethnic or religious reasons are behind the dislike of Mr President’s choice of Minister. It’s all about interest, political interest,” the source added.

But according to the informant, they probably thought that the former President Mohammadu Buhari is still in power.

“Unfortunately for this interest group, the current occupier of Aso Rock is not like the former occupier in many ways.

As learnt, one of the strongest push backs the interest group got from President Bola Tinubu’s camp during the selection of ministerial nominees were on who occupies the office of the FCT Minister.

“Unlike the former president, Tinubu needed a minister with the mentality of a mafia enforcer and he has his kind of man in Wike,” another source explained to DDM.

As learnt, too, the interest groups are not relenting.

FILE PHOTO: Scenes like this have returned to Abuja, the nation’s capital

Indications are rife that insecurity around the nation’s capital may intensify to add further pressure on the players in the corridors of power.

Already, statistics bare grim figures on spate of abductions and killings in Abuja.

In an earlier report made by DDM based on SB Morgen, no less than 200 violent incidents have taken place in Abuja since May 29, 2023 when Tinubu took over as President.

The violence according to SB Morgen, a data analysis portal, happened in each of the Federal Capital Territory’s six local councils.

No less than 87 FCT citizens perished as a result of the occurrences, while 176 more were abducted during that time.

According to the data analysis portal, the data came from multiple media reports on violent assaults, including kidnappings and homicides in the Federal Capital Territory, as well as from Beacon Consulting, a local company that keeps an eye on security-related concerns in the nation.

The report states too that the insecurity escalated since Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, took office on August 16, 2023.

The alarming increase in insecurity in the Federal Capital Territory has raised concerns among people and authorities. The nation’s capital, which was previously thought to be comparatively impervious to the security issues that were common in other regions of the nation, is currently dealing with an increasing number of criminal activities, including kidnapping.

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