The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Monday dismantled a cluster of illegal structures and cleared traders from the UTC area in Abuja’s Area 10, in a renewed push to sanitize public spaces and curb criminal activity in the capital.
The operation, led by the FCTA’s City Sanitation Task Force, was ordered by the Federal Capital Territory Security Committee, according to Mukhtar Galadima, the Director of Development Control, who supervised the exercise.
“This is about enforcing order and eliminating criminal hideouts,” Mr. Galadima said, standing near the site where heaps of refuse had been left to rot.
The UTC district, he explained, had been identified as one of several “dark spots” where illicit activity had flourished in plain sight.
Before moving on to the main cluster of shanties, sanitation teams removed large piles of garbage that had drawn complaints from residents and raised public health concerns. “What we found here is disturbing and alarming,” Mr. Galadima said. “Something serious has to be done.”
What officials said
Officials noted that the site in question was never meant for commercial stalls or makeshift housing.
Under the Abuja Master Plan and the land use blueprint for Phase I of the Garki District, the area is part of a designated transitway corridor, a swath of land intended to carry transportation routes across the city. The corridor runs from UTC, past the Abuja Municipal Area Council Secretariat and the Ministry of Defence, and toward Wuse Zone 3.
Although the transitway has yet to be developed, Mr. Galadima said the FCTA intends to protect it from encroachment by land grabbers and informal settlers. Following the clearance, the Security Committee has directed that the area be fenced and reserved exclusively for transport-related use. Authorities say the barrier will prevent illegal occupants from returning.
Security officials stressed that the UTC clearance was part of a wider campaign to root out criminal enclaves across Abuja. Adamu Gwary, Director of the FCTA’s Security Services Department, said the effort was focused on locations where suspects had been known to “hibernate” before carrying out attacks on residents.
Gwary, represented at the site by Dr. Peter Olumuji, Secretary of Command and Control, reported a noticeable drop in crime rates in areas already targeted since the exercise began last week. He added that the sanitation drive was running alongside Operation Sweep Abuja, a security sweep that has resulted in multiple arrests and the demolition of numerous shanty settlements.
The FCTA says both initiatives will continue in tandem, with the dual aim of reclaiming public spaces and restoring a sense of safety in the nation’s capital.
