The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has reeled out its achievements recorded between January and December 2024.
The FCT Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), a Superintendent of Police, Josephine Adeh, who shared the scorecard, explained that at the start of 2024, the FCT faced significant security challenges across its six area councils, including banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, car theft, “one-chance” robbery, illegal possession and use of firearms, homicides, and other violent crimes.
The Command said that it tragically lost 140 Police officers who died in the line of active duty.
Adeh said that in alignment with the directives of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, the FCT Police Command conducted a thorough analysis of the security situation, carried out crime-mapping, identified crime hotspots, and implemented an action plan with the following strategies, robust community policing engagements, sustained targeted clearance operations, Intelligence-led and visibility policing, collaboration with sister security agencies, strategic communication, public enlightenment, and sensitisation.
The image manager further explained that during the year under review, a total of 1,426 cases were reported, leading to the arrest of 1,077 suspects.
She disclosed that at least 104 kidnapping cases were reported, while 216 suspects were arrested. Also, 263 robbery cases were reported, while 132 suspects were arrested.
The Command under the months in review received 263 one-chance robbery cases and later arrested 71 suspects.
The Command also received 32 cybercrime complaints and arrested 15 suspects. In murder cases, the command received 68 complaints and arrested 78 suspects arrested.
There were 73 burglary cases reported, while 20 were suspects arrested. Also, there were reported 385 fraud cases, but the command arrested 422 suspects.
The Command received 38 cases and arrested 59 suspects. There were 68 cases of police misconduct reported to the Command’s Complaint Response Unit (CRU).
The Command received 127 complaints of car thefts but arrested 64 suspects.
Adeh also disclosed that the command rescued 68 kidnapped victims and 19 victims of one-chance robbers.
The Command charged 38 suspects to court for kidnapping, but 21 defendants were convicted.
Adeh further stated: “ The Command charged 16 one-chance robbery suspects to court, while 11 were convicted. Again, 32 suspects were charged with murder, with eight being convicted. Concerning fraud cases, 178 were charged to court, however, 58 were convicted. Also, 19 suspected cultists were arraigned, and 11 were convicted. For burglary in the months under review, 26 were charged, while eight were convicted. For police misconduct, 58 were charged, but no convictions were recorded. For car theft, 21 suspects were charged and 11 were convicted.”
The FCT Command recovered 376 firearms, including 13 AK-47 magazines and 187 rounds of live ammunition, recovered ₦36,850,000 from kidnapping suspects, ₦68,552,000 from armed robbery suspects, ₦19,590,000 from burglary cases and ₦285,000,000 from fraud cases, total ₦409,992,000.
The Command similarly recovered 73 cars from car thieves, 24 vehicles from one-chance robbers and two cars from suspected cultists.
The PPRO said: “From the above statistics, a 15.1% reduction in crime incidents within the FCT was recorded between 2023 and 2024. Police officers who died in the line of active duty were 140 officers.”
Sharing the Command’s plan for 2025, Adeh said that the Command will intensify community policing engagements, intelligence-led policing strategies, targeted clearance operations, and public enlightenment initiatives to address the evolving security demands of the FCT.
Adeh stated: “The Command extends its heartfelt gratitude to the Honourable Minister of the FCT, residents, sister security agencies, the media, members of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), vigilante groups, and community policing stakeholders for their unwavering support and cooperation.
“With a significant reduction in crime rates and a stable, peaceful atmosphere in the FCT, the Command is committed to sustaining the momentum in combating criminal activities.”
