The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has removed 607 people from the streets of Abuja between July 2025 and today, including beggars and people with mental health conditions.
Ms. Ukachi Adebayo, enforcement officer of the FCTA’s Social Services Secretariat, announced this at a press conference in Abuja on Monday.
She explained that the operation was carried out by the Abuja Cleanup Operation team as part of ongoing efforts to combat street begging and related social problems.
She specified that of the 607 removed individuals, 583 were beggars and 23 were people with mental health conditions.
Ms. Adebayo explained that those detained initially received support and psychological counseling before being transferred, in cooperation with the governments of the affected states, to their respective liaison offices in Abuja to facilitate their reintegration into society.
“When we pick up beggars and people with mental health issues, we counsel them and create a profile before referring them to the appropriate state liaisons for reintegration,” she explained.
However, she emphasized that many of those evacuated frequently return to the streets, adding that the operation would continue.
“The more we remove them, the more often they reappear. Some are driven by the insecurity in their home states and flee to Abuja, but we will continue to pick them up and bring them back,” she added.
The acting head of the Social Affairs Department at the Secretariat, Gloria Onwuka, also expressed concern about the increasing use of children for street begging.
She reported that some children begging on the streets of Abuja were brought by unknown individuals from other states and forced to hand over their earnings.
According to Onwuka, some of the women arrested for begging with children were not the children’s biological mothers.
“Begging has become a business. Some recruit children from other states, bring them to Abuja early in the morning, and send them out to beg. Often, the families are completely unaware of their children being exploited,” she said.
Dr. Peter Olumuji, Secretary of the Federal Capital Territorial Administration’s (FCTA) Command and Control Center, explained that Operation Sweep Away is a joint security initiative of various security services and agencies within the federal capital.
He explained that the operation was launched to rid the capital of beggars, street vendors, youths, and other criminals.
Olumuji emphasized that beggars pose a security risk because some act as informants for criminals, while others contribute to environmental destruction and unrest in the city.
He added that some of them are also victims of kidnapping and ritual crimes.
The FCTA made it clear that the operation to combat beggars and other criminal elements would continue should they reappear on the streets of Abuja.
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