The Federal Capital Territory Administration has pledged to sustain the demolition of shanties and parks serving as hideouts for criminals in the Federal Capital Territory.
The FCT minister’s Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, in a statement on Sunday, said the exercise was “a targeted public safety intervention based on credible intelligence, and not an act of persecution against anyone.”
According to him, security agencies, including the NDLEA and DSS, had identified several locations and facilities in the city as safe havens for criminal activities, notably the Banana Green Belt from the Central Mosque area towards Wuse Zones 3 and 1, and the Area 10 corridor.
“In these areas, innocent citizens are assaulted by assailants who then seek refuge within the surrounding Banana Green Belt/vegetation cover to escape arrest,” he said.
Olayinka disclosed that the demolition of shanties at Jazz and Blues Entertainment, Panorama Recreational Park, Wuse Zone 3, was part of the clean-up, following evidence of sustained criminal activity tied to organised networks operating within the FCT.
“The intelligence obtained and verified through several surveillance and undercover investigations of these locations, amongst which was the Jazz and Blues Entertainment at Panorama Recreational Park, Wuse Zone 3, was that a segment of the park containing shanties and batchers had evidence of sustained criminal activity tied to organized networks operating within the FCT,” the statement partly read.
Olayinka noted that the FCTA had issued multiple contravention notices between February 2024 and July 2025, which were ignored by the park’s management.
“While the FCTA acknowledges and respects the military service of Air Commodore Balogun, it reiterates that national service is not a licence for any individual to harbour criminal elements,” he added.
Olayinka stressed that the main facilities at the park, including the football field, gymnasium and viewing platforms, were unaffected.
He said the city-wide clean-up, which began on August 6, would be extended to other districts in the coming weeks to build a city where residents will be safe to live, work and recreate.
