The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has raised concerns over the alleged recruitment of minors by criminal gangs to carry out traffic robberies across Abuja.
The FCT Commissioner of Police disclosed that some gangs allegedly recruit children and pay them between ₦500 and ₦1,000 to assist in stealing from motorists caught in traffic.
Speaking during an engagement with residents, the police commissioner said some of the minors pose as beggars and approach motorists to distract them while adult members of the gangs steal valuables from the other side of the vehicles.
“These children are being recruited by these bigger ones. They would be the ones that would stop the vehicle or approach you as if they are begging you for something, distracting you so that when you are paying attention to them, these other ones would be stealing from the other side of your vehicle,” he said.
The commissioner said the children are allegedly rewarded after successful operations, with some receiving as little as ₦500 or ₦1,000.
He also recounted cases in which traffic robbery suspects allegedly injured victims while attempting to steal from them.
“We have gotten some of them that were responsible for removing a woman’s ear because they went to remove her earring. They pulled it and the ear was cut,” he said.
According to the police chief, some of the children involved were allegedly brought into Abuja from other states and abandoned to engage in criminal activities.
“Unfortunately, most of these children were brought in from another state and dumped here for just this purpose,” he claimed.
The commissioner explained that because many of the children are minors, they cannot be prosecuted in the same manner as adults.
He said the police were working with social welfare authorities to rehabilitate the children and reunite them with their families.
“When you get them, because of their age, you can’t take them to court. But we already have a place for them with the social welfare so that they can be rehabilitated and reunited with their families,” he explained.
The police also use information obtained from some of the minors to identify the adults allegedly behind the robbery operations.
The commissioner said the children are sometimes offered ₦500 or ₦1,000 in exchange for information about those directing them.
The warning comes amid concerns over traffic-related robberies, child exploitation and public safety in parts of the FCT.
The police stressed that investigations into the alleged operations are ongoing, while the affected minors are being treated as vulnerable children requiring protection and rehabilitation.
