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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Culture & Society

Abuja security beefed up to manage protests, agencies say

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Security agencies in Abuja have increased personnel and barricades to manage protests and maintain law and order.
  • Officials assure residents there is no immediate threat, describing the measures as routine.
  • The heightened security aims to protect the capital city, its institutions, and foreign investors.

Security agencies in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, have significantly increased their presence and deployed barricades across the city center. This heightened security deployment is a response to an observed upsurge in protests within the Federal Capital Territory, aimed at maintaining law and order and ensuring public safety.

It is a joint operation. There is no cause for alarm at the moment.

— CSP Anietie InieduReassuring residents about the security measures in Abuja.

During a joint media briefing, security officials assured residents and visitors that there is no cause for alarm. CSP Anietie Iniedu, the Force Public Relations Officer, described the measures as routine operations designed to ensure the city center remains safe. He emphasized that the deployments are part of the agencies' primary responsibility to uphold peace and order, especially given Abuja's status as the nation's capital.

Iniedu highlighted the importance of these security measures in protecting Nigeria's capital, which hosts numerous diplomatic missions, government institutions, and attracts foreign investors. "We're in the capital, and there's a lot that has to be done to ensure confidence in those in the city center and also for our foreign investors," he stated.

We’ve noticed that there has been an upsurge of protests in the city centre, and we’re trying to maintain law and order as is our basic and primary responsibility.

— CSP Anietie InieduExplaining the reason for increased security presence.

The police spokesman also elaborated on the Nigeria Police Force's evolving security strategy, moving beyond traditional intelligence-led policing to "intelligence-led community collaborative policing." This approach recognizes the limitations of intelligence gathering alone and prioritizes collaboration with local communities to address emerging security threats more effectively.

Remember, we’re in the capital, and there’s a lot that has to be done to ensure confidence in those in the city centre and also for our foreign investors.

— CSP Anietie InieduStressing the importance of security in the capital.

Kingsley Amako from the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit added that security agencies are continuously strengthening intelligence gathering and financial surveillance to combat terrorism financing. He confirmed that agencies are adapting their methods to counter evolving tactics used by criminals and terrorists, ensuring a robust response to security challenges.

We’ve seen that intelligence alone won’t help us. We have gone far to create collaborative processes with our communities.

— CSP Anietie InieduDescribing the shift towards community collaborative policing.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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