By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Federal Capital Territory (FCT) command has paraded 37 scavengers arrested across the city center and the suburbs of Abuja.
The Commandant of the Command, Olusola Odumosu, who paraded the suspects on Friday at the command said most of the scavengers are dangerous elements that must be flushed out of the FCT to address insecurity.
“They were arrested with exhibits such as; Four (4) daggers, three (3) Jack knives, two (2) chisels,
three (3) knives and two (2) pinches.
“Others items include; bottles of codeine syrup, forty five (45) wraps of Indian hemps, thrash bags, pieces of iron rods and Narcotic drugs”
The arrest of the scavengers in on respect to the Nan on their activities by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
The minister had on Monday 13th January, 2025, through the FCT Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, announced the suspension of all commercial activities in the Pantaker Markets for two weeks and an outright ban on the scavengers (AKA Baba Nbola) indiscriminately roaming the streets of the FCT, perpetrating all forms of criminal activities under the guise of scavenging.
Giving details on the activities of the scavengers, he said “the scavengers go about the nooks and crannies of the city and satellite towns; house to house, estate to estate, scavenging for plastics, scrap metals and irons but from previous arrests, interrogations and investigations, we have realized that their real business is to vandalize and remove our road infrastructure such as: manhole covers, flood drain covers, street lights, armoured cables, rail sleepers, iron rods for bridge enforcement and the likes, which would fetch them good money.
“The public also need to know that some Baba bolas now disguise to rob innocent commuters and bystanders as they go about with dangerous weapons to attack and dispos them of their personal belongings especially at night.
“Our record shows that many who dared to challenge them in the past had met their untimely deaths while others are maimed in various parts of the federal Capital Territory.
“Many residents of the FCT and environs have experienced sudden disappearances of many of their household items like generators, cooking pots, stoves, pressing iron, air conditioners, compressors, car batteries, security lights panels, iron drain covers and so on. Scavengers are major suspects to most of such disappearances and they carry out these activities whenever they notice that there is no one in sight, but not without wielding dangerous weapons in case they are busted by the house owners.
“The most vital is that many of them work as informants for armed robbers, kidnappers, hired assassins, terrorists, bandits and all sorts of criminal gangs. Many families have fallen victims of kidnapping, abduction for ransom, murder, assassination and the likes because they give information about your family, the number of children you have, the types of cars you drive, where you work and by extension, keeping tabs on your movement.
They also assess and profile you through the kind of household waste products you dispose which in most cases reveals your status and lifestyles.
“Unfortunately, and in most cases, many of us perceive these miscreants and criminals as ordinary innocent, poor Nigerians, hustling for their daily bread so they move about unchecked and unquestioned by anyone, some of us even sympathize with them, by extending alms to them, whereas, they are responsible for the various crimes happening around you.
“Owing to these revelation and credible intelligence at our disposal, it is therefore imperative that citizens and residents join hands with the Corps and other security agencies to flush out these dangerous elements in the FCT by chasing scavengers away whenever you see them in front of your houses, your streets, neighbourhood or estates.
The public should note that, although, they appear innocent, armless and vulnerable, most of them are extremely dangerous, their activities are criminal in nature and they constitute threats not only to the safety and security of lives, property and infrastructure in the FCT but to Nigeria’s National Security architecture as a whole.
Let me reiterate that the activities of scavengers otherwise known as Baba Nbola has been banned in the city center and the suburbs both during the day and at night.”
