FCT Minister Nyesom Wike led security personnel to a suspected criminal hideout on Friday. The raid targeted a shanty settlement in Kukwaba District near City Gate, Abuja. Wike personally inspected the area immediately after a high-level security meeting. He described the settlement as a haven for criminals operating across the Federal Capital Territory. The minister ordered the immediate demolition of the shanties.
Wike has made security a defining priority of his administration in Abuja. He has repeatedly vowed to dismantle all shanties posing threats to residents. Previous demolition exercises cleared about 1,000 shanties near Bunkoro in Gwarinpa in late 2025. Those operations targeted informal settlements along major road corridors. Critics have accused the minister of carrying out demolitions without adequate notice. Some property owners have challenged the exercises in court. The minister has defended the crackdown as necessary for public safety. He argues that criminal elements exploit ungoverned spaces to plan and execute attacks. Intelligence reports have linked several shanty settlements to kidnapping and armed robbery syndicates.
The Kukwaba settlement sits near Karmajiji, a densely populated area on Abuja's outskirts. Security sources say criminals use such locations as staging grounds. They strike in upscale districts and retreat to informal communities where policing is weak. Wike said the FCT Administration would not tolerate any sanctuary for criminal elements. He stressed that resident safety remains the administration's top priority. The minister reaffirmed his commitment to intelligence-led security operations. He pledged to keep dismantling criminal enclaves across the territory. Abuja has faced rising security concerns in recent months. High-profile kidnappings and armed attacks have rattled residents and businesses. The demolition order signals an escalation in the government's hardline approach to urban security.
