The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has removed a total of 607 beggars and mentally challenged persons from the streets of Abuja between July 2025 and now, as part of efforts to improve security and restore order in the nation’s capital.
The Head of Enforcement at the FCT Social Development Secretariat, Mrs Ukachi Adebayo, disclosed this on Monday in an interview in Abuja. She said the exercise was carried out by the Operation Sweep Abuja Clean team.
According to Adebayo, 583 of those evacuated were beggars, while 23 were mentally challenged individuals. She explained that those apprehended were first counselled and profiled before being handed over to their respective state governments through liaison offices.
“When we apprehend beggars and mentally challenged persons, we counsel them and carry out proper profiling. After that, we take them to their various state liaison offices so they can be returned home for rehabilitation,” she said.
Adebayo noted that despite repeated evacuations, many of the affected persons often return to the streets, adding that the operation remains ongoing.
“The more you remove them, the more they resurface. Some of them fled their states due to insecurity and came to Abuja for refuge, but we will continue to apprehend them and take them back,” she added.
Also speaking, the Acting Director of Social Welfare at the Social Development Secretariat, Mrs Gloria Onwuka, raised concerns over the increasing involvement of children in street begging. She said investigations showed that some children were brought in from other states by unidentified individuals and forced to beg.
According to her, some women arrested while begging with children were not the biological mothers of the children.
“Begging has become a business. Some people hire children from other states, bring them to Abuja early in the morning to beg, and then collect the money. In many cases, the families of these children don’t even know how their children are being used,” Onwuka said.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of the FCTA Command and Control Centre, Dr Peter Olumuji, described Operation Sweep as a joint security effort involving relevant security agencies as well as FCT secretariats, departments and agencies.
Olumuji explained that the operation was initiated by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to rid Abuja of beggars, scavengers, miscreants and other criminal elements. He said beggars often pose security risks, noting that some serve as informants to criminals.
Read Also;
FCTA, FCDA Workers Begin Strike, Shut Down Government Activities in Abuja
“Beyond being a nuisance, beggars and mentally challenged persons can compromise security and deface the beauty of the city. Some of them also fall victim to kidnapping and ritual-related crimes,” he said.
He added that the operation would be sustained to ensure that beggars and other criminal elements do not return to the streets.
It would be recalled that in October 2024, Minister Wike declared a crackdown on beggars in Abuja, citing concerns that the city was gradually turning into a haven for street begging and criminal activities.
He warned that individuals posing as beggars could also be criminals, stressing that the move was aimed at strengthening security and ensuring residents could live without fear in the capital.
