Officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have cleared makeshift structures and recovered dangerous weapons from suspected criminals during a raid in Wuse Zone 3, Abuja.
The team also impounded about 20 vehicles during the operation.
The operation, led by the Director of the Department of Development Control, Tpl. Muktar Galadima, took place in the early hours of Wednesday, August 6, 2025, despite heavy rainfall.
The team moved into the area after it was identified as a major security threat.
Speaking with journalists before and after the exercise, Galadima said the area had become a hub for illegal activities and posed a serious danger to the city.
He explained that the action followed a directive by the FCT Minister for the multi-agency taskforce to intensify efforts to rid Abuja of criminal hideouts and illegal structures.
Galadima said: “We have been able to identify a location that somehow poses a lot of challenge to the city’s security and then a city’s aesthetic quality and we have been able to clear the menace and even to chase away people of the questionable characters.”
He added: “Moreover, this place has been designated for another use. It’s not supposed to accommodate them. They were occupying illegally.
“In the plan of Abuja, where we are standing now is a proposed road corridor that has been designated as the Inner Northern Expressway just like what we have as Goodluck-Ebele Jonathan Expressway,” he explained.
Galadima also revealed that a follow-up operation would take place on Thursday.
He urged property owners in the area to take advantage of the clearance and begin developing their lands according to the FCT Minister’s directive.
“Owners of undeveloped plots should either develop them or risk revocation,” he warned.
Also speaking, Director of the Department of Security Services, Adamu Gwary, said intelligence reports showed that the location was being used by criminals as a hideout.
Represented by Dr. Peter Olumuji, he displayed some of the recovered weapons and said: “If you look at some of these machetes I am holding here, these are the weapons most of these criminal elements who hybernate in this particular axis, normally use to attack unsuspecting passers-by and motoring public.”
He further explained: “From here, they can go towards the National Mosque bridge and they can also access the Zone 1 bridge. So most of those complaints from the public or passers-by of being attacked are done by these miscreants in this area.
“When they attack, they do not only collect their valuables, they also go ahead to machete them with these machetes. Evidences abound in the various police posts around here,” he assured.
Head of Operations at the Directorate of Road Traffic Service (DRTS), also known as VIO, Deborah Osho, confirmed that about 20 vehicles were impounded during the exercise.
Osho said some of the vehicles had been used in “one-chance” robberies and would not be released until proper documentation and heavy fines were enforced.
She said the agency is working ensure that the used for crimes are taken off the streets and that owners face consequences for their involvement.
