By Jamiu Yusuf
ABUJA: The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA has stepped up its clampdown on vehicles with tinted glasses, insisting that the city cannot afford to wait until October — the enforcement date set by the Inspector General of Police IGP, Kayode Egbetokun — before acting.
Speaking during the ongoing citywide sanitation exercise, the FCTA’s Director of Security Services, Adamu Gwary, explained that many tinted glass permits in circulation are forged and tied to rising criminal activity in the nation’s capital.
Gwary, represented by the Director of the Command and Control Unit, Dr Peter Olumuji, said Abuja’s peculiar security challenges demand immediate action.
“People argue that enforcement starts in October, but criminals are exploiting fake permits right now to move freely. Anyone forging such documents is a potential threat. We cannot allow vehicles linked to ‘one-chance’ robberies and other crimes to keep roaming our streets unchecked,” Olumuji said.
Alongside the vehicle seizures, the FCTA intensified its demolition drive against shanties, pulling down over 1,000 makeshift structures in Bunkoro District near Mab Global Estate, Gwarinpa.
Director of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, who supervised the exercise, said the clearance was aimed at improving security and restoring order along the Ring Road 3 corridor.
He explained that while indigenous settlements were spared pending consultations, other illegal shacks had become havens for squatters and suspected criminals.
“The stretch covers about two kilometres, completely overtaken by shacks. We have cleared more than a thousand structures already, and further measures will be taken to prevent reoccupation. The area also falls within the alignment of the N16 road project, so keeping it free of encroachment is critical,” Galadima stated.
The officials assured that the joint clearance and enforcement operations would be sustained to secure lives and property, beautify the city and deny criminals safe havens.
