The Federal Capital Territory Administration has removed no fewer than 607 street beggars and persons with mental health challenges from public spaces across Abuja as part of an ongoing effort to sanitize the city and strengthen security.
The enforcement exercise was carried out by the Operation Sweep Abuja Clean team, a multi-agency task force coordinated by the FCT Social Development Secretariat in collaboration with security agencies and relevant departments of the FCTA.
The operation, which began in July 2025, has remained continuous, with officials noting that many of those evacuated often return to the streets despite repeated interventions.
The clean-up exercise took place across major streets and public areas within the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The Head of Enforcement at the FCT Social Development Secretariat, Ukachi Adebayo, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday.
Speaking on the exercise, the Head of Enforcement at the Social Development Secretariat, Adebayo, disclosed that out of the 607 persons evacuated, 583 were identified as beggars, while 23 were persons living with mental health conditions.
She explained that those apprehended were first counselled and documented before being transferred to their respective state liaison offices for onward movement back to their states of origin, where rehabilitation is expected to take place.
“What we do is counsel them and properly profile them. After that, we hand them over to their states through the liaison offices so they can be rehabilitated,” Adebayo said, adding that insecurity in some states had forced many of them to seek refuge in Abuja.
Also commenting, the Acting Director of Social Welfare at the secretariat, Mrs. Gloria Onwuka, raised concerns about the exploitation of children in street begging, revealing that some children were brought into Abuja by syndicates to beg and surrender proceeds to handlers.
“Begging has become a business. Some people bring children from other states without their families knowing what they are being used for. We have arrested several people involved in this,” Onwuka said, noting that some women caught begging with children were not their biological mothers.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of the FCTA Command and Control Centre, Peter Olumuji, said Operation Sweep was initiated by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to rid the capital of street beggars, scavengers and criminal elements who pose security risks.
Olumuji stated that some beggars act as informants for criminals, while others expose themselves to dangers such as kidnapping and ritual-related crimes, adding that the operation would continue wherever such individuals resurface.
He recalled that the minister had, in October 2024, declared a firm stance against street begging in Abuja, stressing that the city must not be allowed to deteriorate into what he described as a “beggars’ city.”
