The House of Representatives has inaugurated an ad-hoc committee to probe the $460 million Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) security project in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), amid growing concern over rising kidnappings, armed robberies and killings in Abuja despite the massive investment.
The motion to investigate was adopted during plenary after legislators including the Speaker Abbas Tajudeen expressed outrage at the continued surge in violent crimes in the capital, calling the situation “unacceptable and intolerable.”
The CCTV project, originally conceived under a Chinese loan secured over a decade ago, was meant to serve as a technological backbone for surveillance and real-time monitoring to deter crime in Abuja.
The investigative committee, chaired by Ojogo Donald Kimikanboh, is mandated to conduct a forensic audit tracing every dollar spent, scrutinising contract execution and deployment, assessing technical viability of installed infrastructure, and determining whether negligence, mismanagement or sabotage contributed to the failure of the system. The House emphasised that the purpose is not punitive but to uncover facts and restore public confidence. If the CCTV system is found to have been abandoned or crippled, the committee will recommend steps to reactivate or overhaul it.
The probe underscores growing frustration among lawmakers and residents alike that security challenges persist even as the state continues to service the loan used to finance the CCTV project. Many now question the value of continued loan servicing if the infrastructure delivers no security benefit.
