Key Points

• FCTA removed 607 beggars and mentally challenged people from Abuja since July 2025.

• People were counseled, profiled, and sent back to their home states for rehabilitation.

• Operation Sweep continues to keep Abuja safe and reduce crime linked to street begging.

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has taken 607 beggars and mentally ill people off the streets of Abuja since July 2025.

Mrs. Ukachi Adebayo, who leads enforcement at the FCT Social Development Secretariat, said the Operation Sweep Abuja Clean team did the work.

Out of the 607 people, 583 were beggars and 23 were mentally challenged.

Counseling and Sending Back Home

Adebayo explained that the people taken off the streets were counseled and checked, then sent back to their home states with the help of state governments.

“When we catch beggars or mentally challenged people, we counsel them and profile them. Then we send them to their states for help and rehabilitation,” she said.

She said some people return to the streets, but the operation will keep going.

Begging Has Become a Business

Mrs. Gloria Onwuka, Acting Director of Social Welfare, said some children begging were brought from other states by strangers who keep the money.

“Some women begging with children are not their real mothers. People hire children to beg in Abuja and take the money. Families often don’t know their children are being used this way,” she said.

Keeping Abuja Safe

Dr. Peter Olumuji, Secretary of the FCTA Command and Control Centre, said the operation involves all security agencies and FCT departments.

The effort, started by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, aims to remove beggars, criminals, and mischief-makers from the city.

“Beggars can help criminals, make the city look bad, and some are kidnapped for rituals,” he said.

Wike said in October 2024 that Abuja was becoming full of beggars. Some may even be criminals pretending to beg.

The operation will continue to remove beggars and make the city safer for everyone.