Disbelief as robbers target Nigeria’s ‘safest place’

Analysis

Nduka Orjinmo

BBC News, Abuja

Nigeria’s presidential villa in the capital, Abuja, is meant to be the safest place in the country - but the attempted burglary of the residence of the president’s chief of staff right next door has many people worried.

Prof Ibrahim Gambari’s house is in the neighbourhood known as the “Three Arms Zone”, where the Supreme Court and the National Assembly are also located.

The presidency’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, said the attempt to rob the house on Monday was “foolish”.

At face value, it does indeed seem so - given the area is full of security operatives and almost enclosed by a military barracks.

But that is why the incident has left many Nigerians drawing parallels with the security problems the nation faces.

For them, it is easy to conflate the brazen attempted robbery with the spike in criminality nationwide - from kidnapping in the north-west to attacks on public facilities, especially on police officers and their stations in the south-east.

Critics of President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military general, say he has woefully failed to deal with these mounting security challenges.

For many this attempted break-in confirms all their worst fears - that no-one in Nigeria is safe.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: AFP