There are palpable fears that some miscreants, who sneaked into Abuja, using the cover of recent political party conventions, may pose security challenges in the nation’s capital.
Findings showed that a great number of them have crept into various suburbs surrounding the FCT with the aim of possibly adding to the growing number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), thereby posing a huge security threat to the nation’s capital.
Many among the party’s supporters claimed they were disappointed by politicians who brought them to Abuja but couldn’t pay for return to their respective states after the support they provided during the conventions.
Abdulahi Ladan, came to Abuja for the APC convention through an organised transportation system. But he was left behind after a disagreement between a contracted transportation company and a gubernatorial aspirant from Kebbi State.
Abdulahi is not alone in this mess. Thousands of party supporters who came from various states to support political aspirants were abandoned at Eagle Square, Abuja, to their fate after the events.
Consequently, security agencies are doubling efforts to weed out miscreants who besieged the FCT, to keep unwanted visitors out of the city following the APC convention.
A police constable with the FCT Police Command, Ganiyu Umar (not real name), decried the manner in which politicians use the poor to climb the ladder of fortune: “We have been working, chasing those of them who have refused to leave the FCT after the conventions. but some claim those politicians who brought them left unnoticed with the vehicles. Some also alleged that the transport companies that brought them left because there was a breach of contract and possibly their money was not paid.
“Security situation in the FCT may rise if nothing is done to flush these unwanted visitors out of the FCT. This is how insecurity gets out of hand. This is how a capital city is infested of terrorist groups.
“In most cases, those who were dumped in Abuja after the conventions jumped into the moving vehicle on hearing that it heads to Abuja for political rallies. We have worked hard to get them out of the Eagles Square, as many have refused to go.
“And this is because they found the place comfortable to sleep during and after the two-day event. And after sending them away, they headed nowhere because no one was checking their movements. As I speak to you, the police are aware that so many of them had no intention of heading back to their various states.
There must be a system of checking the influx of people into the FCT, the capital of Nigeria.”
Elizabeth Paul said: “You don’t need to listen to these people. They are lying about the inability of their drivers to convey them back to their respective states. This is because they do not have states of their own. After today, they will become indigenes of the FCT. That is the Nigerian way of doing things.”
Christopher Ukaonu, argued that many who trooped into the FCT were not screened before coming in for the conventions: “What happened at the Eagle Square, Abuja, on the day of the convention was total security breach in the nation’s capital.
“I need no soothsayer to know that many of them came into Abuja pretending as party supporters. Some came from the North, some from the West and what have you. And do not forget that the United States has raised a security alert owing to the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
“From what I gathered, many of them have been sighted under the bridges and in some uncomplicated structures within the Federal Secretariat.
“After the conventions, many of them walked a long distance to nowhere and that was witnessed by many FCT residents, who asked suspicious questions about the strange figures wearing APC-branded T-shirts of different colours.
They were seen trekking as far as neighbouring Nasarawa State, Area One, and the Kubwa axis.”
Muktar Zango, who came from Zamfara State in support of a gubernatorial aspirant for the 2027 election, spoke through an interpreter: “Yes, Abdulahi mu’ ke’ so. We came to provide support to him and he is going to win in sha Allah! But we are still waiting for the motor to come back and take us back because we don’t have money. We don’t know what is holding him up. May be the driver has problem of buying fuel. But we are still waiting.”
Some believe that the disorder that broke out at Eagle Square in Abuja during APC National Convention, was caused by unwanted criminals, with reports of security operatives using tear gas on attendees, including delegates and journalists.
The situation was described as disorderly, with large crowds struggling to enter the venue, causing bottlenecks and loss of valuable items by dignitaries. Malachi Micheal, a federal civil servant, said the event was marked by chaos, logistical failures and security breaches apart from widespread sanitation issues:
“The environment at the Eagles Square venue was chaotic due to problems that led to security personnel tear-gassing delegates, journalists and party supporters, causing panic and leaving many struggling to breathe.
“There was also crowd mismanagement. Many participants were denied access despite having tags, with foreign delegates complaining of ill-treatment and theft.
“There were reports of fighting, injuries reaching 38 and chaotic scenes with supporters scrambling for safety. There were reports of some attendees being offered small sums of money
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