The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has launched a major urban cleanup operation targeting criminal elements and unauthorized activities across Nigeria’s capital.
FCT Minister Nyesom Wike personally authorized the initiative, officially dubbed “Operation Sweep Abuja,” to purge the city of miscreants, illegal street traders, scavengers, and notorious “one-chance” criminals operating in Abuja and its satellite towns.
In a Wednesday statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications, Lere Olayinka, the Minister emphasized that the crackdown derives legal authority from the Abuja Environmental Protection Act and related statutes. The operation specifically aims to eliminate behaviors and individuals “deemed detrimental to public safety and urban aesthetics.”
A multi-agency Joint Task Force combining security operatives and FCT departments has been deployed to enforce compliance. Their mandate includes apprehending offenders engaged in begging, unlawful scavenging, loitering, or unauthorized street commerce.
“Security is my job, your job, and our job,” Minister Wike asserted, framing urban safety as a shared civic responsibility. The administration has established protocols to document apprehended individuals before repatriating them to their home states for rehabilitation and reintegration.
This sweeping initiative marks Wike’s latest effort to restore order to the capital since assuming office, following previous actions against illegal structures and non-compliant businesses. The operation comes amid growing public complaints about rising street crimes and environmental degradation in Abuja’s major districts.
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