The Special Ministerial Task Team of the Federal Capital Territory Administration has carried out a demolition operation on illegal settlements situated behind the National Park and National Military Cemetery along Airport Road in Abuja.
The area, known as Ruga, was cleared, and hundreds of makeshift structures—constructed from sacks, planks, and scrap roofing sheets along the rail corridor—were destroyed and set ablaze.
The operation, dubbed “Operation Sweep,” is led by the FCT Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, and was carried out under the directive of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to eliminate all forms of criminality and nuisance in the city.
The task team’s actions aim to restore order and curb illegal activities in key areas of the capital.
Speaking after the operation, the FCT Director of the Security Service Department, Adamu Gwari, described the Ruga settlement as a site plagued with shanties and unlawful structures, many of which were built on private land.
Represented by Dr. Peter Olumuji, the Secretary of the FCT Command and Control Centre, Gwari pointed out that the settlement posed significant security risks, especially due to its proximity to the rail corridor.
He emphasized that the area had witnessed incidents of rail track vandalism, and the demolition of these structures would help safeguard the Abuja Metro Line and its passengers.
Gwari also addressed the future of the demolished area, revealing that FCT Minister Nyesom Wike had issued a warning to plot owners, they must either develop their plots or risk having their allocations revoked by the administration.
Many plot owners had long complained that the illegal settlement obstructed their access to their properties, with some even facing violence when attempting to reclaim their plots from the unlawful occupants.
“The area has now been cleared, and we have advised plot owners to take immediate possession of their land and start development,” Gwari stated.
However, the demolition has left some of the residents displaced. Ibrahim Yusuf, who claimed to be the secretary of the community, voiced the concerns of the affected settlers.
Having lived in the settlement for over two decades, Yusuf expressed that the community had been torn down numerous times, yet the residents always returned and rebuilt.
He emphasized their struggle to find alternative housing, asserting, “What they kept telling us is, ‘You people are living in an illegal area, so leave the place,’ but we have nowhere else to go, and we are not ready to leave Abuja.”
Yusuf and others are now appealing to the FCTA for assistance in resettling them. “We are, therefore, appealing to the FCTA to resettle us. Whatever conditions the administration will give us, we are ready,” he pleaded.
This demolition comes in the wake of Minister Wike’s earlier pronouncement to crack down on beggars within the city, a move that reflects the administration’s commitment to enforcing order and addressing public nuisances
At the flag-off ceremony for the construction of an access road from Ring 1 by N16 to Judges’ Quarters in the Katampe District, Wike made it clear that enforcement agents would begin arresting beggars, marking another step in the government’s efforts to maintain discipline across the capital.
With the Ruga settlement now cleared, the FCTA aims to ensure that these areas are developed properly and securely, while also urging illegal occupants to leave and seek alternative accommodation outside the city.
