Palpable fear grips residents amid grim events as the myth of Abuja’s invincibility was shattered within the last year, especially the month of July alone:
On July 5, 2022, the security of the impregnable Kuje Minimum Correctional Centre was compromised and 63 terrorists and over 800 others were freed, barely 10 kilometers of other security facilities. No airforce plane was scrambled into the air within minutes while a part of Abuja was been invaded, no ground troops locked-in fleeing attackers for the nearly three hours of the night they operated.
On Friday, the 22nd July, there was a disconcerting attack on troops of the elite Brigade of Guards, responsible for guarding the Commander-in-Chief. Two officers, a captain and a lieutenant from Kogi State, and a soldier were killed between Kubwa and Bwari. Other reports said up to eight soldiers died.
Parents have also been rushing to federal government secondary schools in Abuja to pick their children and wards home. The panic has spread to private schools, which management are calling parents to come pick their own.
Meanwhile, the Call to Bar of hundreds of lawyers from the Nigeria Law School, Bwari, has been shifted from the sprawling campus to the Body of Benchers complex in Jabi District of the city centre. It was an alleged letter to the school by terrorists that the Brigade of Guards troops went to investigate that they allegedly ran into an ambush.
Before these two high profile criminal acts and school panic, parts of Abuja had become a playground for bandits, terrorists, kidnappers, and a host of other criminals.
Yet, and amidst the happenings, the Police are assuring residents of the Federal Capital Territory that they are leaving no stone unturned to fortify the Abuja and its environs.
According to a statement from Force Command Headquarters, “The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) has ordered for additional deployment of assets to strategic areas of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) while the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) has been charged on robust Intelligence gathering and information sharing amongst other agencies.
“All residents of the FCT are urged to synergise and be on the same page with the Police and other security agencies in making sure that we forestall any ugly incidences in and around the FCT.”
As security forces remain on edge, one of them, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC, upped the ante placing all its state commands on alert following intelligence reports that elements of the Boko Haram Terrorists as well as those of Islamic State West Africa Province ISWAP have heightened plots to attack the nation’s capital, Abuja and five other states including Lagos.
A leaked memo dated July 25 and signed by the Deputy Commandant General DCG Operations, Dauda Danladi Mungadi said two separate bandit groups have concluded plans to attack Abuja and others.
The memo reads; “We have received credible intelligence that Boko-Haram and the ISWAP Terrorist groups have mobilised fighters and high calibre weapons particularly Rocket propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers, Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns and General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGS) which they intend to deploy for the offensive in Katsina State.
“In another development, two separate bandits groups are plotting coordinated attacks on North-West, North Central and South West (Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kogi,FCT and Lagos) respectively.
“Consequently the Commandant General has directed you scale up deployment in all strategic places including: Schools, Worship Centres and Critical National Assets in your respective states to checkmate any possible threats by these criminal elements. Please treat as urgent”.