Security agencies in the Federal Capital Territory have concluded plans to profile ‘panteker’ markets’ operators in the territory.

Pantaker is a market for the sales of fairly used items and scrap iron, including furniture and home appliances.

Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, Felix Obuah, disclosed this during a meeting with officials of the pantaker markets’ operators across the FCT, in Abuja on Friday.

Mr Obuah stated that the move was to ensure effective monitoring and regulation of the operations of all pantaker markets in the FCT.

The FCT Security Council on January 13 announced a two-week suspension of operation of all pantaker markets in the territory.

Mr Obuah said that the decision was to ensure that only legitimate pantakers operate across the FCT, as part of efforts to curb the menace of vandalism in the territory.

He noted that a recent raid across some pantaker markets by the police and other security agencies led to the recovery of public items worth more than N1 billion. .

He stated, “Therefore, the FCT Administration and security agencies have decided that all pantaker operators must be registered and profiled. This will enable us to identify the genuine ones and determine who is doing what, how and where. This will also ensure effective monitoring and regulation of pantaker activities by both security agencies, Abuja Market Management Ltd and AMMC.’’.

Mr Obuah added that the pantaker operators were also required to register their buyers, and supplies; adding “we want to know who and who supplies you what; who and who are you selling to? Let us have such a register for our record and for security action where necessary.”

He advised the pantaker operators against buying illegal property and patronising vandals, stressing that there would be no supply if there was no demand.

He urged them to alert security agencies whenever someone brought something suspicious to sell to them.

He warned that anyone found with stolen or vandalised items in his shop would be considered a partaker of a crime and would be arrested and prosecuted.

The AMMC boss also advised the operators to operate under one acceptable platform or union for easy interface with government and security agencies.

Also, Director, Security Services Department, FCT Administration, Adamu Gwary, said that only pantaker operators that were recognised by the administration would be profiled and allowed to reopen.

Mr Gwary added that all illegal pantaker operators must be registered and recognised by the administration, and thereafter, profiled by security agencies before they would be allowed to operate.

On his part, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, said that the profiling of the pantaker operators would begin on February 1.

He said, “It is a disgrace that this kind of thing is happening in the FCT, and we have made up our minds to ensure that it stops. We are not going to stop until we bring sanity in pantaker business. We are going to profile you to get a list of people that we think are capable enough to be trusted with the business of pantaker in the FCT.’’

Mr Disu advised the operators to always ask whoever comes to sell to them, where the person got the items from, the receipt and who sold it to them.

“This will enable security agencies to trace suspects involved in the supply of stolen or vandalised items,” he added.

Responding, the National Chairman of Pantaker Operators, Abbas Bello, pledged the full support of the operators to the ongoing efforts to sanitise their operation.

Mr Bello noted that there were criminals masquerading as pantaker operators in FCT, adding that the move would help to remove the bad eggs among them.

Also, the group’s Secretary, Salisu Abubakar, said that the association would work with the security agencies to stop all forms of vandalism in the FCT.

Similarly, the Secretary of Mpape Pantaker, Mohammed Kashim, noted that pantaker contributed to the development of the FCT through job creation.

Mr Kashim noted the need to fish out criminals giving pantaker business a bad name in the FCT.

(NAN)