The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has called for stringent laws to check crimes in the territory.
Wike, who made the call while addressing newsmen in Abuja on Monday, complained that the penalty in the current law was not enough to discourage criminality.
He said that currently, criminals are vandalising solar-powered street lights in the FCT, adding, however, that the penalty when caught is N30,000.
He pointed out that if a vandal is arrested and the court asks him to pay only N30,000 as punishment, the culprit would pay and go back to commit the same offence.
“What I am saying is that legislation should be put in place where it will no longer be easy for criminals to operate.
The minister urged Sen. Ireti Kingibe, representing the FCT in the Senate, to consider initiating a review of existing laws that were put in place to fight crime in the FCT to make the punishments stiffer.
According to him, such a move will complement the efforts of the security agencies by ensuring that whoever is caught committing any form of crime pays dearly for his or her actions.
He assured FCT residents that the government was not sleeping but working day and night with security agencies to address the security challenge affecting some parts of the city.
