FCTA Launches “Operation Sweep Abuja” to Evacuate Street Beggars, Miscreants

By Emmanuel Kwada

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has begun evacuating street beggars and miscreants from the nation’s capital, Abuja. The operation, code-named “Operation Sweep Abuja of miscreants, street beggars/traders, scavengers and other criminal elements,” follows a directive from FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to sanitize the city.

Disclosing this in a statement on Wednesday, Wike’s spokesman, Lere Olayinka, said the operation code-named “Operation Sweep Abuja of miscreants, street beggars/traders, scavengers and other criminal elements” had commenced in the FCT.

A Joint Task Force, comprising security agencies and relevant FCT departments, has been deployed to apprehend individuals found begging, scavenging, or engaging in other acts inimical to residents’ well-being. Arrangements have been made to profile those arrested and hand them over to their home state governments.

“Our nation’s capital should be a secure symbol of pride and beauty, not a site for street beggars and scavengers, most of whom are agents of criminal elements.

“To achieve this, a Joint Task Force, comprising security agencies and relevant FCT SDAs, has been deployed to apprehend any persons found begging, scavenging, loitering, or engaging in other acts inimical to the well-being of the residents,” the statement read.

The FCTA emphasizes that security is a collective responsibility and urges residents to join hands in achieving a safer Abuja.

“The security of lives and properties of residents of the FCT is of paramount importance to the government. We must all join hands to achieve a safer Abuja. Security is my job, your job, and our job.