FCTA Raids Beggars Spots, Unapproved Parking Zones

The Federal Capital Territory Administration’s task team has raided and dislodged beggars spots and unapproved parking zones harbouring one-chance syndicates along Bannex Junction, in Abuja.

Secretary, Command and Control Centre, FCTA, Mr. Peter Olumuji led the joint team on the sanitation exercise.

The team included the Nigerian Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Department of State Security (DSS), Immigration Service, Correctional Service, NDLEA, Directorate of Road Traffic Service (DRTS) Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and the Social Development Secretariat (SDS) as well as other relevant agencies in the FCT.

The team also confiscated vehicles within the city centre, Bannex junction, Federal Secretariat and its environs for various traffic offences as well as dislodged makeshifts posing environmental nuisances within the Bannex area, allegedly used by suspected miscreants to attack unsuspecting pedestrians at night.

Olumuji noted that the raid was part of the FCT Administration’s holistic approach to ensure that residents of Abuja can move freely at every point in time without harassment.

His words:”The enforcement team is all out to ensure that we raid any location that harbours indiscriminate parking, as we have been receiving reports about one chance, and the security agencies with us have been giving us credible intelligence on this issue. That’s why we have to go round the city and dislodge these unapproved parking zones.

“And the aspect of the beggars, they can also be used to gather information for criminal activities and they are also a public nuisance within the city centre.

“We had started this operation for the past few weeks now, and we are sustaining it, because from the feeders we have been getting from members of the public shows that they are appreciating the efforts of the FCT Administration in carrying out the operation, and we are not resting on it.”

Similarly, Deputy Director, Operations, DRTS, Deborah Osho, disclosed that the team impounded 15 vehicles during the operation.

She noted that most of the illegal parks constitute serious traffic obstructions in the city, as the operators divide and occupy major road corridors including pedestrian ways, thereby causing unnecessary traffic jam for residents.

“This is the reason that we are clamping down on them, in order for them to go into approved taxi Panks for their operations in the city, so that our roads will be free“, she said.

Remi Johnson, Edited By Grace Namiji