Claims: While defending her position for prioritising budgetary allocations for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Ireti Kingibe claimed that kidnapping was becoming rampant in highbrow districts of Maitama and Asokoro.
Full Text: In the claim which has now been widely reported by online media platforms, Senator Ireti Kingibe, representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), expressed her discontent and disagreement with the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike over plans to finish the Millennium Tower, Cultural Centre and purchasing new buses for mass transit rather than allocating the chunk of the money for curbing insecurity in the city which she believes should be of immediate priority.
In the programme, Kingibe was quoted as saying, “People are getting kidnapped in Asokoro, Maitama, across the road, not too far from where the embassies are and even from where I live. It’s not in the outskirts of Abuja anymore…that’s number one, so until we all feel secured everything else doesn’t make sense. Abuja also has a problem with water, light, healthcare, schools and so, I think that N72 Billion will go a long way to getting some of those people…problem ameliorated.”
Meanwhile, there was a previous mild melodrama at the Senate hearing between Ireti Kingibe, the senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Wike over the attempt by the Minister to complete the age long abandoned Cultural Centre project.
During the hearing, Ireti said “I think your priorities are not people friendly.” She went further to express her concerns about the Abuja mass transit buses and why the minister should not spend N3 billion to repair them because they are “beyond” repair.
And secondly she talked about the Millennium Towers and Cultural Centre projects, which according to her would not directly benefit the city’s dwellers at the time when the country was trying to mitigate the effects of fuel subsidy removal.
Verification: PRNigeria fact-check team discovered Wike since his appointment as the FCT Minister has reiterated his plans to complete the abandoned gigantic Millennium Tower and Cultural Centre in the FCT, within two years.
The Millennium Towers and Cultural Centre Project is situated in the Central District of Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja. At 170 meters (560 ft), it is the tallest artificial structure in the City. The tower was designed by Manfredi Nicoletti at the cost of N53 billion and is part of the Nigeria National Complex which also includes the Nigerian Cultural Centre, an eight-storey, low rise, pyramid shaped Cultural Centre. Construction for the tower commenced in 2006 and reached its maximum level in 2014.
The purpose of the twin projects centers is to promote the arts, history, religion, and heritage of diverse cultures of the country.
However, when the PRNigeria fact-check team ran a content analysis of 2023 reports of kidnappings in Abuja, highbrow areas of Asokoro and Maitama were not affected.
The closest incidence was reported in October 2022 when a man was killed while trying to rescue a victim that was being forced into a black Prado SUV by the suspected kidnappers.
Meanwhile, there was a trending report of kidnapping of two landlords in Asokoro few days after the claim by Senator Ireti.
Reputable news platform reported that gunmen kidnapped two landlords, demanding a N20m ransom, however, the report turned out to be a hoax as the police refuted the claim stating that the incidence was in a village in Guzape District where kidnappers’ informant was arrested.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, Haruna Garba, has described news making the rounds of kidnappings in Maitama and Asokoro as fake.
The CP urged residents of the federal capital to disregard rumour on social media suggesting there have been several kidnapping incidents in the areas.
He said: “This post is intended to create panic and apprehension in the minds of people.
PRNigeria also checked with divisional police commands in Asokoro and Maitama but there was no report of recent kidnappings in the two areas.
Conclusion: Findings by PRNigeria via media report analysis and check in with the divisional police commands, reveal that there have been no reported cases of kidnapping in Asokoro and Maitama in 2023.
PRNigeria therefore concludes that the claim by Senator Ireti Kingibe, representing the Federal Capital Territory, that kidnappings are operating in highbrow areas of Asokoro Maitama is MISLEADING.
By PRNigeria
