Senator Ireti Kingibe said her earlier alarm about insecurity in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was ignored.

The nation’s seat of power has been embroiled in heightened insecurity in recent months with kidnapping for ransom and armed robbery becoming a regular feature in Abuja.

But the lawmaker representing the FCT said when she raised concerns about security issues in Abuja, she was told that the issues were exaggerated.

“I remember a few months ago, I drew the attention of the minister (Nyesom Wike) – when he came for appropriation – to the fact that security is a priority. And I have been saying that for a long time. It started off with the people in Mpape being unable to sleep,” the Labour Party (LP) lawmaker said on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

“Some months back, the girl that was thrown out of a taxi from one chance that eventually died.

“All these things I drew his attention to, but nothing was done until it got to the point where we are now.

“And I must commend the security agencies for doing something when we started to scream. But the truth is a little bit earlier, I tried to draw their attention and I was told that it was exaggerated and I said it couldn’t be because what I’m telling them, I did not get from social media. I got it from my constituents. But I’m glad that everybody, we are now all seems to be on the same page.

“They’re trying to take it all seriously, but a lot more needs to be done. Catching the kidnappers is just the symptom. We need to get to the root cause of what is causing all of this insecurity.”

Since the escalation of crimes in Abuja, police authorities have doubled up efforts to tame the tide, setting up special squads and deploying new tactics.

The moves appeared to be yielding results as some victims have been rescued and several suspects arrested.

Despite the growing worries about insecurity in Abuja, the Force spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi says there is no need for a state of emergency in the FCT.