FCTA to deploy drones, begins clearance of Kpaduma Forest after kidnap attempt

By Omeiza Ajayi, Abuja

ABUJA: The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA on Monday begun a clearance operation at the Cashew Plantation/Forest in Kpaduma-Kobi village along the highbrow Asokoro-Guzape corridor, following the attempted kidnap of a couple in the area on September 15.

According to the administration, it will deploy drones to surveil the forests and complement efforts of local hunters and conventional security personnel.

Speaking during the exercise, Secretary of Command and Control in the FCTA, Dr Peter Olumiji, confirmed that the couple had been rescued during the incident, though a vigilance team member lost his life in the process.

“The Commissioner of Police immediately mobilized his men to the scene, and both victims were successfully rescued. Sadly, one of the vigilantes paid the supreme price,” Olumiji said.

He explained that the forest had long served as a transit route for kidnappers moving through Karu, Jikwoyi, Orozo and Kurudu, stressing that the clearance was necessary to cut off criminal hideouts.

“As part of the measures, a 24-hour police post will be established here, alongside solar-powered streetlights, to prevent further incidents,” he said.

Olumiji added that beyond physical clearance, intelligence gathering was ongoing to identify local collaborators who may be aiding kidnappers. He revealed that the FCT would also deploy surveillance drones across forests to complement the use of forest hunters recently approved by the FCT Security Council.

Director of Development Control in the FCTA, Mukhtar Galadima, said the clearance was part of wider efforts to reclaim “ungoverned spaces” in the territory.

“About a week ago, a kidnap case was traced to this location. That is why we are here—to ensure all the trees are cleared. Similar operations have already taken place in Apo Resettlement, Guzape, and last year at the Mabushi Scavengers’ Colony,” he noted.

On concerns over compensation, Galadima disclosed that community leaders had endorsed the exercise, emphasizing that villagers had also been victims of abductions.

“The chief’s representative assured us of their cooperation. They are not demanding compensation but total clearance, because they too want to be free from this menace,” he said.

Galadima added that after the clearance, relevant agencies, including the police and Abuja Environmental Protection Board, would be recommended for permanent presence in the area to ensure security and maintenance.

A resident of Kobi village, Iliya Iwadagba who said they had lived in the area for a very long time, said until five years ago, when some elements began to infiltrate the community, they had never witnessed anything like that.

“Actually, we have been living here for a long time and we did not experience this kind of thing. But five years back now, some unwanted people started coming here, and we could no longer pass this route because anytime in the evening when you pass there, people will just come out from these bushes around us, and attack innocent you.

“They killed one man and left his car, they kidnapped one man, and left his car, and just of recent our vigilante while trying to secure the area, they came out and shot them (vigilante).

“So this thing is getting too much and we are calling on the government to see how they can at least clear this bush and give us security. Even we who are working here, we cannot work because we always think something will happen, our businesses do not flow here like before because everybody is scared of following this route”, he added

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