ABUJA – The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has activated a major security offensive, “Operation Sweep,” with Commissioner of Police Miller Dantawaye declaring that Abuja “must never experience” the wave of kidnappings devastating other parts of Nigeria.
The announcement followed an expanded security meeting convened by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike on Tuesday, where the police chief revealed the operation has been deployed across four strategic sectors covering Gwagwalada, Bwari, the entire city centre, and border communities extending to Karu, Mararaba, and Karshi.
“The FCT Minister, His Excellency Nyesom Wike, in his wisdom has provided adequate logistics for this operation, and it has been fully kick-started,” CP Dantawaye stated. “The essence is to ensure that crime doesn’t come close to the FCT.”
The police commissioner addressed recent security concerns directly, confirming that two alleged kidnap attempts at Veritas University and Government Secondary School in Tunga Maji proved to be false alarms. “At Veritas University, when we got there, we discovered that no bandit attack was attempted at all. And at Tunga Maji, children saw farmers and panicked,” he explained.
Dantawaye outlined comprehensive protective measures, including enhanced security for religious institutions. “On Fridays, we are going to secure almost all the mosques, and on Sundays we will do the same for the churches,” he assured residents.
The operation has already yielded results against “One Chance” robbery gangs, with four syndicates reportedly arrested. “We have noticed that some of them are criminally minded. When you search them, you see phones they cannot unlock. Some of them are already in custody,” the commissioner revealed.
The police command also pledged support for the FCT Administration’s planned demolition of illegal shanties, with Dantawaye asserting that “there is no such thing as a legal shanty.”
CP Dantawaye appealed for public cooperation, urging residents to avoid spreading unverified security alerts and assuring that “we are paid with your hard-earned money to secure you, and we will not relent.”
