FCTA Combs Under Bridges, Subways For Criminals

In a bid to protect lives and properties of residents of the territory, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has commenced massive raid of bridges and subways notorious for criminal operations in Central Business District (CBD), Maitama and Wuse Districts of Abuja.

The FCTA through its Joint Taskforce on City Sanitation raided subways and bridges around the three Arms zone, especially roads connecting  Women Affairs Ministry, Police headquarters, Court of Appeal and Federal Secretariat.

The team also raided tunnels and green areas beside Abia House, connecting to River Plate Park through to National Mosque and Yar’Adua center, including Millennium and Chescon Parks, in Maitama, and Wuse, where informal activities are taking place, side by side with people of questionable characters living under the facilities.

Coordinator of the taskforce Mukhtar Galadima who led the operation, said it was pursuant to the directive of the FCT minister, following complaints from residents in the city alleging the misuse and abuse of such facilities.

Galadima, who doubles as the director, FCT Department of Development Control, described the sanitary condition within and around the affected facilities as very disturbing, which calls for immediate drastic measures to mitigate.

Secretary of Command and Control Centre of the FCT, security services department, Dr Peter Olumuji, recalled that residents of the capital city have been raising concern on how whenever they transverse those locations criminal elements coming out from the bushes, snatching their phone and bags, robbing them of their valuables even in their cars when they don’t wind up. Immediately they do this, they run into the bridges to hibernate.

“That is why we have decided to come and profile the canals  and bridges within the capital cities. We have all the security agencies represented here in this operation. We have the Nigerian Police, Civil Defense, the DSS, the NDLEA, and Immigration, so what we will do now is to commence effective clamp down on these criminal elements under the bridges.

“We made three arrests under the bridges today and these arrests concerns more of drug related issues, and we have handed them over to the NDLEA for further investigation and profiling,” he said.