The Federal Capital Territory Administration’s city sanitation team has intensified its Operation Sweep Abuja campaign, moving into the notorious UTC area in the city centre to clear refuse dumps, dismantle shanties, and flush out suspected hoodlums.
The exercise, which began last week following a directive from the FCT Security Council, is aimed at ridding Abuja of criminal hideouts and other forms of environmental nuisance.
Speaking to journalists during Monday’s operation, Moukhtar Galadima, Director of the FCT Department of Development Control and head of the team, described UTC as one of the city’s “hotspots” identified for urgent intervention.
“While coming here, we noticed a refuse dump that had been neglected. We cleared the area first before targeting the main spot where the hoodlums operate. What we found here was disturbing; something serious had to be done,” Galadima said.
According to him, the cleared location falls within a designated transit way in Abuja’s master plan — a corridor stretching from UTC through the Federal Ministry of Defence, behind the AMAC Secretariat, past Fraser Suites, and towards Wuse Zone 3.
To prevent criminals from returning and to safeguard the land from illegal encroachment, Galadima disclosed that the space would be put to temporary use until full development commences.
“We have been directed to take possession of such cleared sites by fencing them off and putting them to interim use, in line with city development goals,” he explained.
Galadima dismissed social media claims that the team vandalised the property of a retired Army General during last week’s operations, insisting that only makeshift structures used by scavengers and miscreants were removed.
He said property owners and operators in the area had been given notices dating back to October 2023, February 2024, and February 2025. Meetings were also held with mechanics and scavengers to notify them of the impending clean-up.
“The park allocated to Panorama is intact; the playground, gym, and lounge remain. We only removed illegal structures similar to the scavengers’ shanties. Nothing more, nothing less,” he clarified.
FCT Director of Security, Adamu Gwary, represented by Dr. Peter Olumuji, revealed that police statistics show a significant drop in crime within the areas cleared so far.
“Since this operation started a week ago, crime rates in affected areas have reduced drastically. We are also removing them from any new locations they try to occupy,” Olumuji said.
He noted that the sanitation drive is running alongside Operation Sweep Abuja to ensure miscreants have nowhere to regroup.
Last week, weapons were recovered from hideouts in Zone 3 during the clean-up.
Vice Chairman of the Area 7 Pedestrian Association, Clifford Azarama, commended the FCT Administration’s intervention and pledged the association’s support to sustain the gains.
“We thank the FCT Administration for clearing this road and the environment for us. We will continue from where the government has stopped to keep it clean and safe,” he said.
The city sanitation exercise is expected to move to other identified black spots in the coming weeks, as authorities vow to sustain the pressure on criminal elements in Abuja.
