From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Monday intensified security and traffic enforcement efforts in Abuja with a fresh clampdown on illegal commercial transport operators alongside a clearance of forest hideouts used by kidnappers.
In a coordinated operation involving the police, civil defence, and other security agencies, the FCTA impounded 40 vehicles and 52 motorcycles engaged in traffic violations and criminal activities, especially those linked to the notorious “one chance” robberies.
Mandate Secretary of the FCT Transport Secretariat, Chinedu Elechi, who inspected the seized vehicles at the Wuye command of the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), stressed that while motorcycles would be crushed following court orders, vehicles would face mobile court trials before any final actions.
“We don’t just impound; the owners will face a mobile court. So what we’ll do with them will depend on the court order, where we can tell you straight away that the bikes are crushed. But all of these things happen after the court order,” Elechi explained.
He warned that the clampdown would continue as long as violations persist. “If the people use the bikes and the unpainted vehicles, so long as they are not tired of violating the law, we too cannot be tired. So sustainability is as they violate. It’s an FCT task. We’ll keep doing it and doing it.”
The crackdown specifically targets unpainted commercial vehicles, which Elechi linked to heightened insecurity. “There has to be sanity. The function of government is actually the welfare and security. And so we’ll not be tired because we know that one of the security breaches is this use of unpainted vehicles to carry passengers. That is where the one chance thing happens. It hardly happens with the painted taxis,” he added.
Elechi further revealed plans to profile and register all commercial drivers with identifiable numbers and painted taxis to enhance passenger safety. “We’re going to have security programmes involving getting all the drivers. We’ll allocate numbers to all the taxis… If you decide to use your personal vehicle to do transportation, we will come after you because that is how the one-chance thing happens.”
Acting Director of DRTS, Deborah Osho, confirmed the vehicles and motorcycles were seized for various traffic offences, including route violations and driving against traffic regulations, highlighting unpainted commercial vehicles as prime offenders. “These ones also are mostly used for criminal activities. You can see for bag snatching and all manner of activities in the town,” she said.
In parallel, the FCTA launched a clearance exercise to remove “Kobi forest”, an expansive and rugged woodland that has long served as a transit route and hideout for kidnappers terrorising communities around Guzape and Asokoro. The operation followed a violent kidnapping attack on 15 September 2025, where two villagers were kidnapped and a vigilante commander, Bello, was killed during a rescue effort led by the FCT Police Commissioner, Ajao Adewale.
Director of Development Control, Muktar Galadinma, who led the clearing effort, explained the forest had become an ungoverned space fostering criminal activity. “The purpose of our visit to this site is to clear this forest, which has become an ungoverned space. One of the vigilante officers lost his life,” he said, emphasising community support for the removal of the cashew trees and structures in the area to aid surveillance.
He added that similar clearances had been conducted across Abuja’s outskirts, such as Apo Resettlement and Mabushi Scavengers Colony, to combat criminal hideouts.
The FCT Security Services Department is also deploying drone surveillance technology operating 24/7 to monitor vulnerable forested areas.
FCT Command and Control Secretary, Peter Olumiji, revealed plans to establish police posts and install solar-powered streetlights for continuous security in these hotspots.
“This forest is a major transit route for kidnapping activities. From here, criminals can move to Karu, Jikwoyi, Orozo and Kurudu,” Olumiji noted. Investigations into recent incidents are ongoing, utilising intelligence and community informants to trace criminal networks.
Local resident Iliya Iwadagba described the transformation from peaceful living to terror under the forest’s shadow: “Five years back, some unwanted people started coming here… They killed one man and left his car, they kidnapped one man, and left his car… Our vigilante was shot while trying to secure the area.” He called on the government to act promptly, saying, “Our businesses do not flow here like before because everybody is scared.”
