The Federal Capital Territory Administration said it has intensified its clampdown on street begging in the nation’s capital, evacuating a total of 889 beggars and destitute from major streets of Abuja in the past three months.
Officials say the sustained sweep, now a daily feature across parts of Abuja, is driven by mounting security concerns and the growing visibility of organised clusters of beggars and scavengers in high-traffic areas.
Head of FCT Enforcement, Ulkacha Adebayo, who led Monday’s operation during which 54 persons were evacuated, including nine children, said the three-month tally reflects the scale of the challenge confronting the Administration.
The figure, she explained, has increased steadily as teams move from district to district.
“In the past three months, we were able to evacuate about 835 of them. So, if we add it to the number we have now, it’s about 889,” she said.
Those evacuated are being profiled and moved to government rehabilitation centres, where officials say they will receive welfare support and vocational training. The operation has already covered Maitama, Asokoro, Garki, Wuse and Gwarinpa, with enforcement expected to continue in other hotspots.
But the evacuation effort is unfolding against the backdrop of a disturbing intelligence report linking criminal syndicates to the same population the FCTA is trying to remove from the streets.
Secretary of the FCT Command and Control Centre, Dr. Peter Olumuji, who confirmed this, said ongoing security assessments show that criminal networks now exploit beggars, physically challenged persons and destitute individuals as covert couriers for drug trafficking and other illicit activities.
“The sad thing is that, as vulnerable as they have become, they have also become a useful tool in the hands of criminal elements.
“From intelligence we have gathered over time, they use them to courier illicit drugs, especially in the nighttime. Who will suspect that a physically challenged person could courier illicit drugs? But they use them to do that.”
Olumuji further disclosed that some of the individuals removed from the streets serve as informants for criminal gangs operating within the territory. He added that enforcement personnel have faced resistance in several operations, with suspects allegedly attacking officers using walking canes and other mobility aids.
The FCTA maintains that the current operation is not a one-off intervention but a continuous effort to restore order, reduce security vulnerabilities and address the rising public frustration over street begging and unregulated street habitation.
