The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has impounded over 700 vehicles as part of a crackdown on vehicles with tinted windows lacking permits and those with fake number plates in Nigeria’s capital city.
According to Adamu Gwary, Director of the FCTA Department of Security Services, the ongoing enforcement drive, known as Operation Sweep Abuja Clean, has also resulted in the recovery of seven stolen vehicles in a single week.
Speaking through Dr. Peter Olumuji, the Secretary of the Command and Control Centre, Gwary stated that the operation’s goal is to flush out criminals, especially those involved in “one-chance” taxi robberies.
Gwary made this disclosure during a stop-and-search operation on Monday, August 18, around the Apo-Wassa Junction and the Karu area of Abuja.
“Investigations show that most of the vehicles used by these criminals are illegally tinted, unregistered or carry fake number plates. Taxi operators and other motorists have no justification for using tinted glass, which only provides cover for criminal activities,” Olumuji said.
He noted that the initiative has significantly reduced incidents of “one-chance” robberies, adding that impounding over 700 vehicles since the launch of the operation has sent a strong warning to criminal elements across the FCT.
Olumuji further urged residents to remain patient with the temporary inconveniences of stop-and-search operations, assuring that the measures are meant to protect lives and property.
Also speaking, the Head of Operations at the Directorate of Road Traffic Services(DRTS), Mrs Deborah Osho, said the joint task force—which includes the police and other agencies—has continued to target unregistered taxis and vehicles operating with fake plates.
“Many of these vehicles drive against traffic, operate as unpainted taxis or carry number plates that do not match their registration details. In some cases, a plate registered to a Peugeot is found on a Corolla. These are clear red flags we monitor closely,” Osho explained.
She said such measures have made it increasingly difficult for criminals to operate within Abuja, adding that the mass impoundment of vehicles in Karu demonstrates that “the FCT is becoming too hot for one-chance operators.”
Both officials reaffirmed that ‘Operation Sweep Abuja Clean’ will continue across the city and satellite towns until sanity is restored on Abuja roads, while appealing for public cooperation with enforcement officers.
Persecondnews recalls that the operation, launched in line with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike’s directive, had apprehended 210 beggars, including 80 men, 58 women, and 72 children, within its first three days.
The FCTA’s Acting Director of Social Welfare, Mrs. Gloria Onwuka, told journalists on Friday, July 11, that scavengers, ‘one chance’ syndicate members, and other apprehended criminals were in police custody, while the beggars, apprehended in various locations, were being profiled for evacuation to their respective states.
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