Tinted glass: We are impounding vehicles with fake permits, says FCTA

Director of Security in the FCTA, Adamu Gwary, made the clarification on Monday during the ongoing Citywide Sanitation Operation.

Represented by the Director of the Command and Control Unit, Dr Peter Olumuji, the official explained that despite the directive of the Inspector General of Police IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, which set October 2025 as the start date for nationwide enforcement, Abuja could not afford to wait because of rising security concerns.

He stressed that several of the vehicles seized during the operation were discovered to have fake permits, adding that such cars were frequently used in “one-chance” or taxi robberies and other crimes within the capital.

“People argue that the IGP has set October 2025 for enforcement, but the reality is that criminals are exploiting fake permits to move around freely. Anyone who can forge a permit also has the potential to commit crime. We cannot ignore the security risks of allowing them to remain on our streets,” Olumuji said.

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The citywide exercise also targeted illegal shanties, with over 1,000 makeshift structures demolished in Bunkoro District, near Mab Global Estate in the Gwarinpa area.

Speaking during the demolition, the FCTA Director of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, explained that the clearance was part of ongoing efforts to improve security and restore order along the Ring Road 3 corridor.

He noted that while indigenous settlements were spared pending consultations with the Resettlement and Compensation Department, other illegal structures had to be removed because they harboured squatters and persons of questionable characters.