{"id":173277,"date":"2025-08-10T19:09:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T18:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/clearance-of-criminals-hideouts-to-continue-in-fct-wikes-spokesman"},"modified":"2025-08-10T19:09:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T18:09:00","slug":"clearance-of-criminals-hideouts-to-continue-in-fct-wikes-spokesman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/clearance-of-criminals-hideouts-to-continue-in-fct-wikes-spokesman","title":{"rendered":"Clearance of criminals hideouts to continue in FCT \u2013 Wike\u2019s spokesman"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, on Sunday vowed that demolition of shanties and parks serving as hideouts for criminals in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, will be a continuous exercise.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, men of the FCTA Development Control Department, Security Services and Vehicle Inspection Office, VIO, cleared some areas identified as major threats to the capital\u2019s security and aesthetic standards.<\/p>\n<p>The exercise, which involved demolition of illicit structures, impounding vehicles and seizing weapons, is being followed up with a mop-up operation to ensure criminal elements do not return, according to the FCTA.<\/p>\n<p>FCT minister, Nyesom Wike\u2019s Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, said the demolition of Jazz and Blues Entertainment at Panorama Recreational Park, Wuse Zone 3, was part of the clean-up exercise.<\/p>\n<p>He said: \u201cThe operation was a targeted public safety intervention based on credible intelligence, and not an act of persecution against anyone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSecurity agencies, including the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Department of State Services (DSS), identified several locations and facilities that serve as a criminal hideouts and safe havens across the Federal Capital City (FCC).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNotable in these areas were the Banana Green Belt, extending from the Central Mosque area towards the Zone 3 and Zone 1 of Wuse District, including Area 10 corridor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn these areas, innocent citizens are assaulted by assailants who then run to seeks refuge within the surrounding Banana Green Belt\/vegetation cover to escape arrest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe intelligence obtained and verified through several surveillance and undercover investigations of these locations, amongst which was the Jazz and Blues Entertainment at Panorama Recreational Park, Wuse Zone 3, was that a segment of the park containing shanties and batchers had evidence of sustained criminal activity tied to organized networks operating within the FCT.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThus, in accordance with Abuja\u2019s Development Control Regulations and public safety protocols, the FCTA, with other security agencies commenced a city-wide cleanup exercise of all identified criminal hideouts across the FCC on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, so as to remove these criminal hideouts, and restore sanity and security to the FCC. A segment of the Jazz and Blues Entertainment at Panorama Recreational Park, Wuse Zone 3, which housed criminal activities was among the locations visited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cContrary to claims of abrupt action, the FCTA Department of Development Control issued several Contravention Notices to the Park\u2019s Management prior to the exercise carried out on the August 6, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn February 2024, a formal notice was issued to inform the park operator of the identified infractions. This was followedby three formal notices between October 2024 and June 2025, and a final eviction order dated July 25, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHowever, these Contravention Notices issued by the FCTA were completely ignored.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the avoidance of doubts, the FCTA wishes to state that the main facilities\/activities within the park (i.e. the football field, its viewing platforms, the Gymnasium area, and several other facilities) were unaffected and remain functional following the removal of these criminal elements from the park.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile the FCTA acknowledges and respects the military service of Air Commodore Balogun, it reiterates that national service is not a license for any individual to harbour criminal elements\/activities, and endanger the general public.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot minding any orchestrated media reports, the FCTA will continue with the city-wide cleanup exercise in the coming weeks and this shall be extended to other Districts within the FCC, in order to achieve the administration\u2019s goal of building a city where its residents will be safe to live, work and recreate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\">Nigeria<\/a> Follow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/\">Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. The Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, on Sunday vowed that demolition of shanties and parks serving as hideouts for criminals in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, will be a continuous exercise. Last week, men of the FCTA Development Control Department, Security Services and Vehicle Inspection Office, VIO, cleared some areas identified as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":173276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[1570,2140,254],"class_list":["post-173277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-nigeria-2","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Clearance of criminals hideouts to continue in FCT \u2013 Wike\u2019s spokesman - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/clearance-of-criminals-hideouts-to-continue-in-fct-wikes-spokesman\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Clearance of criminals hideouts to continue in FCT \u2013 Wike\u2019s spokesman\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. The Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, on Sunday vowed that demolition of shanties and parks serving as hideouts for criminals in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, will be a continuous exercise. Last week, men of the FCTA Development Control Department, Security Services and Vehicle Inspection Office, VIO, cleared some areas identified as [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/clearance-of-criminals-hideouts-to-continue-in-fct-wikes-spokesman\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-10T18:09:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/clearance-of-criminals-hideouts-to-continue-in-fct-wikes-spokesman#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/clearance-of-criminals-hideouts-to-continue-in-fct-wikes-spokesman\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Clearance of criminals hideouts to continue in FCT \u2013 Wike\u2019s spokesman\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-10T18:09:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/clearance-of-criminals-hideouts-to-continue-in-fct-wikes-spokesman\"},\"wordCount\":599,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/clearance-of-criminals-hideouts-to-continue-in-fct-wikes-spokesman#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/08\/MohamadReza1754852988.498249.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Nigeria\",\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/clearance-of-criminals-hideouts-to-continue-in-fct-wikes-spokesman#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/clearance-of-criminals-hideouts-to-continue-in-fct-wikes-spokesman\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/clearance-of-criminals-hideouts-to-continue-in-fct-wikes-spokesman\",\"name\":\"Clearance of criminals hideouts to continue in FCT \u2013 Wike\u2019s spokesman - 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The Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, on Sunday vowed that demolition of shanties and parks serving as hideouts for criminals in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, will be a continuous exercise. 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