Security: Abuja govt to establish control centre for intelligence gathering, sharing

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has concluded plans to establish a Central Command and Control Centre for the deployment of technology to improve security in the territory.

The Director of the Security Services Department of FCTA, Adamu Gwary, disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday while interacting with journalists about efforts to improve security in the territory.

Mr Gwary explained that the centre, approved by the FCT Minister, Nyeson Wike, would collate and analyse security intelligence feeds from drones, Closed-Circuit Television cameras and other technological devices.

He added that there would also be a unit at the central feed that would respond and act on the analysed data.

He said the move would improve citizens’ confidence in the government’s commitment to addressing security challenges affecting them.

He added that step would equally encourage residents to support security agencies with immediate and timely security information for prompt action.

“This is part of the minister’s efforts in ensuring that he meets the security demand of residents of FCT.

“This is key, considering that insecurity impacts negatively on agriculture, and commerce, including the education sector,” he said.

The director said that Mr Wike had equally made provisions for the upgrade of security infrastructure in the 2025 budget to ensure that the security agencies performed effectively.

He said that when Mr Wike assumed office as the FCT minister in August 2023, there was no week that people were not being kidnapped in area councils, including the city centre.

He added that to address the problem, the minister held a town hall meeting with residents and relevant stakeholders in the six area councils, to understand their concerns and priority in governance.

“During the meeting, the residents identified insecurity as a paramount concern, which informed the minister’s interventions to improve security not only in the city centre but also in the area councils,” he said.

Mr Gwary identified some of the interventions as the provision of patrol vehicles fitted with communication gadgets to security agencies.

He added that motorcycles were also procured and distributed to security agencies, including vigilante groups, to improve security in rural areas, particularly hard-to-reach communities.

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“To bring security to the doorsteps of the people, the minister had equally secured the approval of President Bola Tinubu to construct 12 Police Division Offices, two each in the six area councils of the FCT.

“The ongoing project also included the construction of six units of two-bedroom apartments for the police officers for each of the 12 police stations,” he said.

He said that due to the numerous security interventions by the FCT minister, insecurity indices in the FCT have drastically reduced.

“The security situation had improved beyond our expectation, which improved the minister’s confidence in the security agencies to deliver on their task given the needed support,” he added.

(NAN)