Unprofiled vehicles will be prohibited in Abuja from 2025 — Wike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has announced that starting January 2025, all commercial buses in Abuja must undergo profiling by the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS).

This initiative aims to enhance security and curb incidents of kidnapping and “one-chance” robberies within the nation’s capital.

Wike made the announcement at the FCT Renewed Hope Youth Empowerment Programme in Abuja, where he presented new cars to beneficiaries for use as taxis. He highlighted the government’s efforts to support families and reduce transportation costs, stating, “They are not paying a dime… This is our support to feed your family and reduce the cost of transportation in the city… Abuja should compete with other cities in the world.”

The minister urged beneficiaries not to view taxi driving as beneath them, noting that many Nigerians accept such roles when abroad.

He emphasized that any commercial bus not meeting the new profiling requirement by the set date will be barred from operating within Abuja.

“Most of the Keke Napep and most of the motorcycles are informants. Everybody here that is a beneficiary is being profiled by the security.

“And so what we are coming up with is that from January next year, there will be nobody that will operate as a taxi driver or a bus driver without having approval from security, with security profiling you and without going about with Abuja colour.

“Nothing like using any vehicle on the road. No, we won’t allow that. From January, we won’t allow that.

We will take the vehicle number, name of the drivers and the rest so everybody will have confidence that this is the vehicle I’m entering in case anything happens.”

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