EXCLUSIVE: How Kidnappers Turned Abuja Border Communities Into Terror Zones Despite $460Million CCTV Project

When Yemisi set out for her farm along the Fulani Road area of Madalla, a border community with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), she never imagined she would end up in the hands of kidnappers.

Her family members, who spoke to SaharaReporters on condition of anonymity, recounted the days of anguish they endured after she was abducted.

“She went to the farm like every other day around Fulani Road in Madalla and we did not hear from her again. Just for someone to reach out to us asking for ransom payment. They told us they had kidnapped her and we needed to pay before they would release her,” a family member told SaharaReporters.

The relative said the days that followed were filled with fear and uncertainty.

“They asked us for N10 million and we could not even raise that kind of money as a family, we were struggling. We could not sleep.”

According to the family, Yemisi spent five days in captivity before they eventually paid a ransom amount they declined to disclose.

After receiving the payment, the kidnappers reportedly gave her transport fare and directed her on the route she should take until she reached an expressway.

The family later discovered that she had been held in the Imi area of Zuba in the Federal Capital Territory.

“All the while, she was kept at the Imi area of the Zuba in Federal Capital Territory. When she walked, she found herself at Kaduna Road through the shortcut the kidnappers explained to her,” the family source told SaharaReporters.

Following the ordeal, the victim was unable to remain in Madalla because of the psychological trauma she suffered. Her family subsequently took her back to her village, where she could recover with the support of relatives.

“She went back to the village so that she could be taken care of and people could be around her.”

Residents say Fulani Road, where Yemisi was kidnapped, has become notorious for criminal activities. The road links Madalla with Zuba in the Federal Capital Territory.

SaharaReporters learnt that once it is 7 p.m., many residents are afraid to move around because of security concerns.

However, Fulani Road is not the only border community affected by the growing wave of kidnappings.

Residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria’s capital, who spoke to SaharaReporters described living in constant fear, saying they move about uncertain of their safety in the face of relentless attacks by criminals.

Their fears may not be unfounded.

In May, SaharaReporters reported that Eunice Ameh, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member and lawyer, regained her freedom after spending several days in captivity.

She was released only after a ransom was paid, according to lawyer Festus Ogun.

Ogun confirmed in a post on X that her release was secured through negotiations involving the payment of ransom.

In the post published on Sunday, May 10, 2026, Ogun said Ameh’s freedom came at a cost and used the incident to criticise the country’s worsening security situation.

He wrote: “Eunice, the Abuja lawyer earlier abducted, has been freed, after payment of ransom. Those who support this incompetency of Bola Tinubu and the APC regime may continue. It’s Eunice, it could be anyone tomorrow.

“The security situation in the country is alarming. It makes me wonder really how this President sleeps at night. I think he doesn’t just give a damn.”

Earlier in June, SaharaReporters reported that heavily armed gunmen, suspected to be members of a bandit cartel, threw the Paze community in the Kubwa area of Bwari Area Council, Abuja, into panic after invading a residential home and kidnapping a resident for the second time in less than a month.

Kidnapping is no longer new to the FCT.

In March 2025, SaharaReporters reported that four residents of the Chikakore community in Kubwa, Bwari Area Council, remained in captivity for more than 44 days after they were abducted.

The victims, including members of the same family, were kidnapped on Sunday, January 26, 2025, when armed assailants stormed the Health Centre Extension area of Chikakore at about 11 p.m.

In June 2023, unidentified gunmen invaded the Mashafa area of Mpape in Abuja in the early hours of the morning and abducted four residents.

Some of those kidnapped were identified as managers in private companies.

Earlier, on February 21, kidnappers who abducted the father of the incumbent Chairman of Bwari Area Council, John Shekwogaza, demanded a N100 million ransom for his release.

Some residents of the Bwari area told SaharaReporters they were forced to relocate deeper into the city because of repeated attacks by kidnappers and bandits.

“We had to move to town and rent houses there because it then looked like the bandits were more powerful than the government,” an affected resident told SaharaReporters.

There have been numerous reports of kidnappings across the FCT, leaving many residents fearful for their lives.

According to data from SBM Intelligence, between June 2024 and June 2025, residents of the FCT paid a total of N153.5 million in ransom to kidnappers.

Residents of Madalla, Zuba and Kubwa who spoke to SaharaReporters said the worsening security situation persists despite the presence of the headquarters of several of Nigeria’s security agencies in the Federal Capital Territory.

Failed Abuja Multi-Billion Naira CCTV Project

On May 15, 2023, the Federal High Court ordered the Ministry of Finance to disclose the total amount paid under the $460 million Abuja CCTV loan, the identities of the local and Chinese contractors who received the funds, and the implementation status of the project.

In May 2026, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) urged the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, to immediately disclose the identities of all local contractors, subcontractors, consultants and vendors that benefited from payments made under the controversial $460 million Abuja CCTV project.

Findings by SaharaReporters show that the project was funded under the National Public Security Communication System (NPSCS) through a loan from the Chinese government.

Information published on the website of the China Eximbank stated: “On August 7, 2010 the Government of Nigeria signed a $470 million commercial contract with ZTE for the Nigeria National Public Security Communication System Project.

“As of December 31, 2020, Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) reported that the China Eximbank PBC (loan) had achieved a 100% disbursement rate ($399.5 million) and the borrower had made interest repayments worth $89.04 million and principal repayments worth $92.19 million to the lender. As such, the loan’s (principal) amount outstanding, as of December 31, 2020, was $307.31 million.”

Documents reviewed by SaharaReporters show that the second sub-component of the agreement was a Video Surveillance Subsystem, involving the installation of approximately 2,000 solar-powered CCTV cameras in Abuja and Lagos to monitor and reduce criminal activities, including kidnappings, attacks and killings.

Despite the enormous public funds committed to the project, SaharaReporters’ review of data from the China Eximbank portal shows that Nigeria is expected to continue repaying the loan until 2030, while the execution and effectiveness of the solar-powered CCTV system in Abuja remain shrouded in mystery.