Where are the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras that
purportedly gulped $470 million in the Federal Capital Territory?
Questions about their existence and effectiveness within Abuja are being
asked, as bombing of the capital city at will by Boko Haram insurgents
has not abated.
Security experts and residents have at different times tagged the
project dead on arrival and expressed doubts that the cameras ever
worked. In several reports done by LEADERSHIP, the federal government
had been called to question over the functionality of the cameras.
A Federal High Court in Abuja had recently granted an ex-parte
application, seeking an order of mandamus to compel the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the controversial contract
awarded to Chinese company, ZTE Corporation by the federal government.
It was also reported recently that the presidency following the
failure of the CCTVs to contribute in the fight against insurgency had
turned down a request by the Ministry of Police Affairs to pay
additional N3billion to the contractor handling the project.
LEADERSHIP findings following the blast that rocked the EMAB Plaza in
Wuse II on Wednesday afternoon, which left at least 24 people dead, show
that if truly the CCTVs existed around the busy shopping complex, the
suspected bombers would have been identified by now.
A senior police officer who spoke under condition of anonymity told
LEADERSHIP weekend that only a few of the CCTV cameras are currently
working. The reason for the breakdown of the cameras, according to him,
includes lack of maintenance as well as power failure. “The truth is
that some of them are not working. Definitely, not all of them can work.
Some were faulty from day one. Others may suffer power failure.
Moreover, not all parts of Abuja, even within the metropolis, are
covered,” the source said.
The officer also pointed out that the terrorists always try to avoid
areas where there are visible CCTVs. “Terrorists are very intelligent
crooks. When they want to select their target, they select places where
the eyes of the camera will not come. That’s where you hear things like
CCTV cameras serving as deterrent. If they want to strike in Abuja I’m
sure they will select their target away from the CCTVs,” the officer
said.
Also, the coordinator of the National Information Centre, Mr Mike Omeri,
while giving an update on the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls and
the fight against insurgency, collaborated LEADERSHIP findings when he
revealed that the FCT lacked adequate CCTV to monitor activities in the
metropolis and called on private organisations and public-spirited
individuals to install the CCTV in their premises.
“The minister of FCT has said they are working. He said they are working
on improving them. CCTV is not everywhere in the city; that is why we
are calling on citizens to install CCTV and that is one way they can
contribute to the fight against terrorism,” Omeri said.
The coordinator, who is also the director-general of the National
Orientation Agency, NOA, said the situation in the country demanded that
everyone cooperate with the security agencies to rid the country of
insurgents. He said though the CCTV cameras within the city are working,
they are not in some parts of the city.
Experts express doubts over the functionality of Abuja CCTV
Meanwhile, security experts have expressed doubts over the operations of
the several CCTV cameras installed in Abuja. Some of them who spoke to
LEADERSHIP Weekend yesterday doubted the functionality of the CCTV in
the capital city.
A former director of State Security Service (SSS), Mr Mike Ejiofor, was
of the view that most of those installed in Abuja are not functioning.
“From what we have seen, I doubt if the installed cameras are really
working. We had up to three bombings now and we have not been told of
any outcome from investigations from the cameras. When incidents like
this happens, the cameras are supposed to pick up people who are
involved in the crime but, so far, I don’t know whether we have that
facility or the existing ones are really functioning,” he said.
Also, a former commissioner of police in the FCT, Mr Lawrence Alobi,
while responding to LEADERSHIP Weekend, said the importance of CCTV
camera cannot be overemphasised in combating crimes. The ex-police boss
questioned the sincerity of those who handled the installation of CCTV
in Abuja.
“The CCTV in Abuja, how functional are they? Who awarded the contracts?
Are they functioning? Where are they located? How effective are they?
What has been achieved from them and when were they installed? Are they
CCTVs being maintained? These are the questions we should be asking,” he
said.
He also urged the federal government to come up with a policy of making
all offices, businesses both public and private install CCTV cameras to
check crimes in the country. He reminded all that the terrorists who
bombed Boston in the United Stated were apprehended through a CCTV
installed in a private restaurant.
“If it can be replicated in Nigeria, it will go a long way in helping us to checkmate insurgency in Nigeria,” Alobi said.
FCT minister challenged to produce CCTV footage of bomber
Security expert Chief Gilbert Nwoko, who spoke with LEADERSHIP on the
CCTVs in the FCT challenged the FCT minister, Sen. Balla Mohammed, to
produce the footage of the EMAB Plaza bombing images if truly the FCT
has functional CCTV.
Another security analyst, Otunba Bamidele Shodeinde, queried why the FCT
minister would claim that CCTV cameras were working when the Boko Haram
insurgents have successfully carried out several attacks on the FCT
without leaving any trace behind. “Nigerians are no longer fools; we
have advanced very far. It is only our leaders who don’t want to advance
and so they are always thinking that the people are as backward as
them, if not even more backward.
“Everybody is asking the government how they spent billions of
taxpayers’ money installing CCTV cameras which are not working and
cannot help in the fight to eradicate terrorism in the country.
“The Nyanya bombing happened the first time and they told us that the
CCTVs were not in the suburbs. Now it has happened in the metropolis and
it is apparent that the CCTVs in the metropolis are not working.
“Nigerians want the government to prove that the CCTVs are working and
capable of helping to identifying the terrorists and bringing them to
book,” he said.
2 more victims die in hospital
Two more victims of the Wednesday bomb blast who were undergoing treatment have died at the National Hospital.
The minister of health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, stated this
yesterday in Abuja when he visited the surviving victims of the bomb
blast at the various hospitals in Abuja. He said that “one of the two
victims that died at the hospital had 90 per cent burns which pose a
great challenge in management”.
However, the minister who was referring to the Senegalese who died at
the National Hospital Wednesday night said that “the second person apart
from the burns had multiple organ injuries and was operated upon on
arrival at the hospital but he couldn’t make it”.
He also said that one other of the victims is in critical condition and,
as such, he has been kept under the Intensive Care Unit.
As at the time of the Minister’s visit to the National Hospital, there
were six patients there. He also visited the Maitama District Hospital
where a majority of the victims were initially taken to.
Chukwu said that only 13 of the victims remained in the hospital as most
of them have either been discharged or referred to other hospitals.
He said that the level of healthcare delivery for the victims at the
National Hospital is very satisfactory and that most major cases are
brought to the hospital because of its facilities. He said that “the two
people that were lost could have been lost anywhere in the world as
their conditions were extremely difficult to treat”.
Meanwhile, survivors of the bomb blast currently receiving treatment at
the hospitals have continued to pour out their heart to government to
continue supporting them in their condition.
Eyewitness accounts dispute police arrest claim
After Wednesday’s deadly bomb blast at EMAB Plaza, Wuse II, Abuja, and
the widely circulated claim by security agents of arrest of a suspect
and killing of another fleeing the scene, accounts from some
eyewitnesses who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend indicated that the claims
might not be entirely true.
The eyewitness who does not want his name mentioned in print said that
after the bomb went up, a few minutes before 4pm, exactly when Muslims’
call for prayers was on, “there was pandemonium everywhere as people
were lying on the ground; some were dead, wounded and trapped in cars”.
“I saw others running as a far as their legs could carry them as thick
smoke filled the skies; suddenly cars started exploding as more fire
engulfed the area with people still inside some of the cars; I was
confused as to what to do as I stayed flat on the floor.
At that moment, all I could hear and see were wailing for the first five
minutes as emergency people from National Emergency management Agency
(NEMA) were the first to show up. There was no policeman five to 10
minutes after the blast and so how come they were able to identify the
bomber and arrest him in the first few minutes after the blast when
there was total confusion all over the place?” the witness said.
Another eyewitness also told LEADERSHIP Weekend that policemen attached
to some of the banks around Emab Plaza took to their heels as the bomb
went off, questioning the credibility of the said arrest. “Maybe they
did that to show Nigerians that they are working, as I do not see any
truth in the claims by the security personnel,” he stated. “When did the
military arrive the scene? The focus of everyone after the blast was to
first save one’s head before looking for survivors; many cars were
pushed from burning flames by spirited individuals who defied all odds
to save people as well as cars from burning as the people from the fire
service came 40 minutes after the blast.
“I didn’t see the police arresting anyone on bike moments after the
blast. The police that arrived minutes later… how come they were able to
identify the bomber and arrest him or did they scan the CCTV camera
before arriving at the scene of the blast?
“Let us see the footage recorded from the CCTV camera mounted around the
place to be able to ascertain the claims of arrest by the police. I
don’t believe in this kind of public relations gimmicks of the police.”
In a related development, indications emerged yesterday that despite
having found the part of the engine bearing the engine number as well as
the number plate of the vehicle used for the second Nyanya bomb blast,
security authorities are yet to link it to the owner of the vehicle.
When the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) was contacted for
information on whether the owner of the car used for the Nyanya bomb
blast had been traced, a source in the commission’s public enlightenment
unit asked LEADERSHIP to provide him the number plate of the car and
“if it is a new number plate, the FRSC has the capacity to trace the
owner”.
On the Emab Plaza attack, he also said it was too early to comment on
the issue or know who the owner of the alleged motorbike used by the
bomber was, as investigation was still ongoing and the commission was
yet to get information on the incident.
Meanwhile, workers and business owners in Wuse II, Abuja, especially
those on Aminu Kano Crescent where the bomb blast occurred, are yet to
recover from the shock of the incident.
When LEADERSHIP visited the area yesterday, many shops in neighbouring
plazas were still locked just as there were a few of hawkers around the
usual points on the crescent where they used to stay to do their
business.
At Omega Centre, a shopping plaza on Aminu Kano Crescent, it was
observed that following the Emab Plaza bomb attack, the management had
barred cars from going into the premises. The situation caused traffic
snarl in the area as vehicles parked along the street.
A guard at the plaza told LEADERSHIP that it was closed for two days
after the Emab incident and was only reopened yesterday but only a few
shop owners were out for business.
The situation was however different at neighbouring K-City Plaza. Though
vehicles were allowed into the premises, they were subjected to
thorough search by the guards. However, the plaza was devoid of its
usual bustle as it witnessed a low influx of shop owners and customers.
FCTA orders arrest of illegal users of power bikes
Meanwhile, as part of efforts to stem the menace of terrorism and other
crimes, the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed has directed
the FCT Police Commissioner to promptly arrest and prosecute any person
illegally using Power Bikes and Motorcycles in the Federal Capital
City, Abuja.
This directive, which was conveyed to the FCT Police Commissioner via a
letter dated June 27, 2014 and signed by the FCT Permanent Secretary,
Engr. John Chukwu, reminded him that the ban on the use of power bikes
and motorcycles in the FCC was still in force.
Muhammad Sule, Chief Press Secretary to the FCT Minister, who stated
this through a press statement said the reminder is underscored by the
fact that one of the suspects in the recent bombing at the EMAB Plaza,
Wuse II District, Abuja was seen on a Power Bike by Security Agents.
