The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has intensified its citywide clean-up operation with the demolition of more than 1,000 shanties and illegal structures in the Karsana area, near Bunkoro District, Gwarinpa.

Speaking during the exercise on Monday, the Director of Development Control, Muktar Galadima, explained that the operation targeted makeshift settlements, roadside squatters, and individuals described as “persons of questionable character” who had taken over a proposed road corridor.

According to Galadima, the demolition focused strictly on temporary structures, including wooden shelters and other non-durable constructions, while indigenous homes were deliberately spared. He noted that the exercise covered a 2-kilometre stretch along the planned Ring Road 3 (RR3) corridor, an area currently obstructed by hundreds of illegal structures.

“Today’s exercise is along the proposed Ring Road 3 corridor at the intersection of N16 and RR3, where we have Mab Global Estate. The shanties and squatters here pose security challenges. This clean-up is part of our sanitation drive to enhance safety and restore order,” he said.

He further disclosed that while the RR3 project had not yet been awarded, road works along the adjoining N16 route were ongoing. The FCTA, he added, had engaged with the Department of Resettlement and Compensation to avoid disrupting genuine indigenous communities.

Also commenting, the FCTA Director of Security Services, Adamu Gwary, represented by Dr. Peter Olumuji, stressed the link between the demolition exercise and enhanced public safety. He revealed that residents of nearby estates, including Mab Global, had long raised security concerns over the activities of criminal elements hiding within the shanties.

“There is a clear connection between development control and the protection of lives and property. Criminal hideouts often masquerade as temporary structures behind indigenous settlements,” Gwary noted.

He confirmed that while no arrests were made during the demolition, similar clean-up operations would continue across Abuja to tackle insecurity. Gwary also highlighted the administration’s clampdown on vehicles with tinted windows, many of which he said were operating with forged permits and linked to “one-chance” robberies.

Despite an Inspector-General of Police directive postponing enforcement on tinted vehicles until October 2025, Gwary defended the ongoing crackdown, insisting it was necessary to curb rising criminal activities.