‘Operation sweep’ — Abuja task force arrests 400 persons, impounds 50 vehicles

Operation sweep, a new joint task force in the federal capital territory (FCT), has arrested 400 persons and impounded 50 vehicles for various offences in the city. 

Umar Kadiri, a police superintendent and the operation commander, spoke on Monday at the end of a raid which started on Friday. 

He said the task force personnel destroyed illegal structures and dislodged traders at the unauthorised parts of the Utako and Jabi axis of Abuja. 

The commander said the operation also dislodged unapproved motor parks, removed illegal structures on the streets and destroyed scavengers’ shanties in some parts of the city.

“We have impounded not less than 50 vehicles from Friday to date and arrested not less than 400 people. Some were prosecuted and others will be prosecuted in accordance with the law,” Kadiri said. 

“The clearing of illegal traders by the roadside around the markets became necessary because they constituted obstacles to the free flow of traffic and defacing the city.

“Beyond keeping the city clean, clearing them would also ensure a free floor of traffic on Abuja streets, including market areas where traders and their illegal structures have taken over the roads.

“Most of these traders were associating themselves with scavengers who are allegedly stealing people’s valuables in the name of scavenging,” he said.

While speaking, Kaka Bello, the deputy director of monitoring and enforcement at Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), said that the operation was part of an ongoing exercise to keep Abuja clean.

Bello said Nyesom Wike,  minister of the FCT, instituted the operation to ensure effective sanitation in the FCT.

“As you can see, we are here with different security agencies to provide the needed support for a hitch-free exercise,” Bello said. 

“We have been here several times, but the illegal traders and scavengers return after some time to continue their illegal activity.”