ABUJA RESPONSE - ANNUAL CRIME EVALUATION

UNCLAS ABUJA 000090 DEPT FOR DS/ITA, DS/IP/AF, DS/FPO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC KCRM KSAC NI SUBJECT: ABUJA RESPONSE - ANNUAL CRIME EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRE REF: 08 STATE 168473 08 STATE 132056 ¶1. Post's responses are keyed to reftel. Crime Mobility: Criminal elements generally roam freely at night, and are known to target EmbOff and affluent residential areas for burglary. RSO Comment - Abuja has experienced daytime robberies at popular restaurants and shopping areas in downtown Abuja where expats are known to congregate, but more often the crime occurs during hours of darkness. Because of the relative ease in which criminals operate during the hours of darkness, particularly outside the Ring Road, the U.S. Embassy has restricted road travel outside Abuja city proper. ¶2. Crime Ambience (Around EMBOFF Neighborhoods): - Surrounded by low crime buffer zones, which are perceived as safe during the day, but are unsafe at night because of street crime. RSO Comment - No area in Abuja can be considered immune or free from criminal elements and criminal incidences can occur at any hour. For instance, vehicle thefts are prevalent throughout the country and occur at all hours. Additionally, thefts of personal property are reported on all modes of public transport and Abuja routinely experiences residential break-ins during the day. Use of public transportation is not recommended by Embassy staff. ¶3. Aggressiveness of Criminals: - Do not avoid, and may seek violent confrontation with occupants during burglaries, and are not deterred by police response to alarm or emergency phone call. RSO Comment - Given that it is common knowledge that the police lack the resources and manpower to respond, even alarm activations are not always effective as a deterrent to criminals. ¶4. Arming of Criminals: - Criminal perpetrators are usually carrying firearms (handguns or shoulder weapons). RSO Comment - Criminal perpetrators usually at a minimum, will be armed with knives, but just as often they are carrying firearms, normally AK-47s or hand guns. ¶5. Aggression of Criminals: - Operate in groups of greater than four individuals, are disposed frequently to be confrontational and gratuitously violent, and prone to use deadly force on victims. RSO Comment - Individuals that fail to respond, resist, or are perceived to resist commands from criminals are likely to receive an immediate and violent response. For instance in 2007 an American staff member was beaten with a rifle because he was perceived to not be cooperating fully with a street robbery. ¶6. DETERRENCE/RESPONSE OF POLICE: - Local police or neighborhood associations are totally ineffective in deterring or disrupting burglaries and other crimes in EMBOFF neighborhoods, and seldom are able to apprehend or arrest suspects after the fact. RSO Comment - Often police vehicles do not have fuel and seldom respond in a timely manner, if at all. Embassy provided vehicles are often required to facilitate police response. In accordance with Nigerian laws, only the police are authorized weapons, therefore local security companies cannot deter serious criminals. ¶7. Training/professionalism of Police: - Police are somewhat unprofessional and ill trained; they are demonstratively apathetic to alarms and investigation of incidents in Emboffs neighborhoods; they have serious resource/manpower limitations that inhibit their deterrence or response effectiveness. RSO Comment - The upper echelons of police force are responsive to our security and investigative requests but their directives often do not effectively flow down to the rank and file. The Nigerian National Police Force has historically been under funded and as a result initiated a fund raising campaign to assist in buying needed force equipment. Morale in the police force is low because of low pay and a payroll system that operates very inefficiently. The police use their frequent check points more often to harass and receive funds rather than deter crime. As a result of these factors and the economic condition of the country, corruption and lack of professionalism will remain an issue for the Nigerian police force for the foreseeable future. PIASCIK