Determined to reduce the crime rates across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, the Nigerian police have apprehended no fewer than 56 hoodlums and destroyed their hideouts, which had continuously been major threats to residents of the country’s seat of power.
The suspects, apprehended from different locations, were rounded up as part of a fresh offensive against criminal gangs who have turned abandoned sites and uncompleted buildings into their operational bases.
A security source disclosed that the operation was carefully planned to target multiple areas simultaneously, ensuring that suspects had little to no escape routes.
According to the source, the sweep produced significant results, with officers recovering substances suspected to be Indian hemp and other illicit drugs from the suspects.
The arrests were made simultaneously yesterday by teams from Kubwa, Nyanya, Maitama, Gwagwa, Dawaki, Gwarinpa, Asokoro, Karu, Jikwoyi, Mpape, Lokogoma, and Utako Police Divisions in the Federal Capital Territory.
“The screening process has already begun, and any individual found to have links with criminal activities will face prosecution without delay,” the police source revealed.
Meanwhile, police authorities have assured residents that Abuja remains relatively calm and safe, while stressing that the Command will sustain its aggressive clampdown on blackspots to deter criminal activities.
“This is not a one-off exercise. We will continue to dismantle these hideouts until the city is rid of them”, the spokesperson for the Abuja police command, Josephine Adeh, said when contacted by The Guild to confirm the arrest.
