The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Ministerial Committee on City Sanitation Task Team has arrested 14 suspected criminals in raids carried out on black spots across the city centre yesterday.
The task force raided shanties around Bolingo hotels, Church Gate Towers, all located in the Central Business District; Wuse and Jahi districts which led to the recovery of an unspecified number of weapons.
Chairman of the task team, Ikharo Attah, told journalists that most of the undeveloped plots of land in the city had been turned into criminal hideouts.
Attah who decried the rate at which criminal elements were illegally converting all available spaces to hiding places warned owners of the undeveloped plots to rid their properties of criminal activities and also commence development.
He noted that the discoveries made at some of the places raided were frightening, adding that the exercise would be intensified.
Attah said the FCT Minister has reiterated his resolve to flush out criminals from the city.
“We discovered there has been so much intra-city robbery, so from our checks, we found that the criminals live among the people in shanties. So, today, we have to commence intensive operations around the Central Business District, Wuse and Jahi districts,” he said.
Also speaking, Secretary, FCT Command and Control, Peter Olumuji, said the operations were in response to the residents’ complaints of incessant criminal attacks around the raided areas.
He said the invasion of the black spots would send a signal to all criminals that effective policing of the city has come to stay.
He added that the operations would not end until insecurity is combated for all residents to have a sense of security and safety.
