Abuja residents urge govt to end incessant kidnapping

Residents of Pegi Community, in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja have urged the FCT Administration to as a matter of urgency put an end to the continuous kidnapping of people in the area by unknown gunmen.

A security town hall meeting to find a lasting solution to the lingering insecurity in the area was held Monday.

The town hall meeting which attracted religious, political leaders, Civil Society Organizations, and representatives of security agencies were said to have been long overdue.

At the meeting convened by residents and some critical stakeholders, the people, apparently distressed by many perils, said their tears of anguish have never been wiped off after many years it started dripping.

They said that since their problems have remained unsolved, they will not be ashamed of crying and also calling for help.

Findings by our correspondents revealed that in the last three years, the Pegi community, apart from contending with lack of basic amenities, has become training, Cum slaughter field to kidnappers.

It was alleged that no week had ever passed without any case of kidnapping or heartbreaking report of bizarre crime.

A retired civil servant, Madam Ruth Bature and resident in the community, tearfully complained that kidnappers no longer ambush their victims, but now move from house to house picking their targets.

Bature, who is a senior citizen by all standards, also noted that she would have abandoned her property if she had an any better alternative.

She disclosed that moving in and out of the community is a dangerous movement that keeps her constantly in a mood of prayer.

Giving more insight on the plights of the resettlement, Chairman, Pegi Community Development Association (PECDA), Aderibigbe Taiwo, said that while kidnapping and killings of innocent people had remained serious concerns, the government’s indifference was even more perplexing.

Taiwo noted that though the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) had commenced the construction of the only road linking the community with other parts of Kuje, more efforts were required to ameliorate their plights.

He said that since 2006 when the resettlement was approved by the then administration, there was a high hope that the place was going to become one of the fastest-growing communities with all necessary amenities.