FCT police lose 140 officers in confrontations in one year
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command lost 140 officers but recovered N409,992,000 from criminals during duty operations in 2024, according to figures released by the command.
FCT Police Command spokesperson Josephine Adeh said N36,850,000 was recovered from kidnapping suspects; N68,552,000 (armed robbery suspects); N19,590,000 (burglary cases); and N285,000,000 (fraud cases).
She also disclosed that 140 police officers died on active duty, while 68 complaints were received against personnel.
“Police officers who died in the line of duty: 140. Police misconduct: 68 cases reported to the command’s Complaint Response Unit, police misconduct: 58 suspects charged; no convictions recorded,” Adeh said.
She added that a total 1,426 cases were reported, leading to the arrest of 1,077 suspects.
According to her, fraud cases were the most reported (385) with 422 suspects arrested, followed by armed robbery (268 cases, 132 arrests), one-chance robbery (263 cases, 71 arrests), car theft (127 cases, 64 arrests), and kidnapping (104 cases, 216 arrests).
“For cybercrime,” Adeh added, “32 cases were reported, and 15 suspects were arrested. For homicide, 68 cases were reported, leading to 78 arrests. Burglary saw 73 cases, with 20 suspects arrested, while cultism recorded 38 cases, leading to 59 arrests.”
Up to 376 firearms, including 13 AK-47 magazines and 187 rounds of live ammunition, were recovered, gleaned from the scorecard.
“Seventy-three vehicles were recovered from car theft cases, 24 from one-chance robbery cases, and two from cultism cases. From the above statistics, a 15.1% reduction in crime incidents within the FCT was recorded between 2023 and 2024. Additionally, 68 kidnapping victims and 19 one-chance robbery victims were rescued.”
The report listed 38 kidnap suspects charged to court and 21 convictions.
“For one-chance robbery, 16 suspects were charged, and 11 were convicted. homicide: 32 suspects charged, eight convicted; fraud: 178 suspects charged, 58 convicted; cultism: 19 suspects charged, 11 convicted; burglary: 26 suspects charged, eight convicted; and car theft: 21 suspects charged, 11 convicted.”
As part of plans for 2025, Adeh explained, focus would be on enhancing community policing and conducting targeted operations.
“Building on the successes of 2024, 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.
“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.”
– The PUNCH.
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