Yuletide: FCTA task force storms motor parks in crackdown on criminals

As part of efforts to ensure a safe and secure yuletide season, Operation Sweep, a special security task force of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), on Monday raided motor parks and other strategic locations across the FCT.

The Director of the Security Services Department, FCTA, Mr Adamu Gwary, said the operation was aimed at ridding the territory of criminal elements during the festive period. Gwary, who spoke through the Secretary of the Command and Control Centre, Dr Peter Olumuji, told journalists in Abuja that the exercise would be sustained throughout the yuletide.

According to him, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, had issued a clear directive to security agencies under Operation Sweep to eliminate all forms of criminality in the territory. He noted that the operation had recorded significant success and would continue with constant monitoring of motor parks and other public spaces.

Gwary disclosed that illegal motor parks being used by “one chance” operators to abduct unsuspecting residents were being dismantled, while shanties and other locations harbouring criminals were also being destroyed.

He warned criminal elements to steer clear of the FCT, stressing that there would be no safe haven for miscreants within the territory. He added that several arrests had already been made, shanties pulled down, and criminals posing as taxi drivers dislodged.

The director said the primary objective of the exercise was to protect lives and property of residents during the festive season and beyond. He added that security personnel had also been deployed to identified blackspots across the city to maintain tight security throughout the celebrations.

Gwary further urged operators of motor parks and event centres to ensure that only properly identified individuals, especially motorists, were allowed to operate within their facilities.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Jabi Motor Park, Abuja, Mr Adamu Abubakar, commended the task force for its efforts, noting that the operation was helping to rid the city of “one chance” criminals and sanitize transport operations across the FCT.