By Pius Awunah
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has vowed to impound vehicles with tinted glass permits despite the end of October 2025 deadline earlier given by the Nigeria Police Force, insisting that many of the documents in circulation were forged and often linked to criminal activities.
Director of Security in the FCTA, Adamu Gwary, stated this on Monday,August 25,2025,during the ongoing Citywide Sanitation Operation.
Represented by the Director of the Command and Control Unit, Dr. Peter Olumuji, the authority explained that despite the directive of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, which set the end of October 2025 as the start date for nationwide enforcement, Abuja would not wait because of rising security concerns.
He stressed that several of the vehicles seized during the operation were discovered to have fake permits, adding that such cars were frequently used in “one-chance” or taxi robberies and other crimes within the capital.
“People argue that the IGP has set October 2025 for enforcement, but the reality is that criminals are exploiting fake permits to move around freely.
“Anyone who can forge a permit also has the potential to commit crime. We can not ignore the security risks of allowing them to remain on our streets,” Olumuji said.
The citywide exercise also targeted illegal shanties, with over 1,000 makeshift structures demolished in Bunkoro District, near Mab Global Estate in the Gwarinpa area.
Speaking during the demolition, the FCTA Director of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, explained that the clearance was part of ongoing efforts to improve security and restore order along the Ring Road 3 corridor.
He said that while indigenous settlements were spared pending consultations with the Resettlement and Compensation Department, other illegal structures had to be removed because they harboured squatters and persons of questionable characters.
“The stretch of this corridor covers about two kilometres, and it had been completely overtaken by shacks. We have already cleared over a thousand structures and further works will be done to prevent reoccupation,”Galadima said.
According to him, the cleared area is part of the route for the ongoing N16 road project, making it important to keep it free of encroachments.
Gwary and Galadima assured residents that the joint clearance and enforcement operations would be sustained across the territory to protect lives and property, enhance the city’s aesthetics and reduce criminal hideouts.
