Feature

METRO feature

By Stanley Onyekwere

In continuation with its proactive measures to tackle menace of insecurity and environmental challenges in Abuja, the FCT Enforcement taskteam raided and removed hundreds of shanties allegedly harbouring criminals in Durumi 1 and 2 area of the nation’s capital city.

The enforcement team accompanied by joint security personnel drawn from Military and Paramilitary agencies, yesterday stormed the area with three bulldozers, and cleared the affected makeshift structures mainly made of woods and zincs allegedly harbouring criminals and other structures erected without necessary approval from the relevant authorities.

In particular, the team removed structures within a large Garden and Timber shed situated inside tree planation, attachments to houses and perimeter fence of Junior secondary school and Primary Healthcare Centre, and clusters of shops serving as community market in the area.

It was observed that the clean up operation resulted to the displacement of owners and occupiers of the removed structures, hitherto used for trading and living purposes in the area.

One of the affected persons, who makes furniture, James Aleke, who claimed that he had been there since 2008, the exercise has left him and his family stranded, as there are no other place to relocate to.

He said: “I have never seen this kind of thing before, which is not making our lives easy. And my wife also is equally affected, her own shop is right behind mine.

“Going to get a shop in town is not just for the ordinary man, and the little place we are managing, have been demolished without notice.

“For me, I will just use my contacts to be making furniture pending when God would bless us with another place, but Government should come to our aid and rescue, because the suffering is getting to much”.

However, while admitting that there are lot of criminal elements in the area, Aleke noted that most of the disloged persons that are doing legitimate things should have been spared from the exercise.

For Miss Rose Sunday, one of the women leaders in the demolished market, who said her two shops were demolished, said they were taken aback by the development, and are left with nowhere to go to, as most them were not able to salvage anything.

“We have children, sisters and other dependants, like for me, I don’t have money with which I will carry my belongings away from the place. So I don’t know how to do now,” she laments.

On his part, the Sarkin Yaki, Durumi, Hon John Bawa, the community have been having attacks and lot of security challenges, and the valuable property of members of the community have been lost in several attacks.

Bawa said the operation is in line with security action that is supposed to be taken, becasue where there are a lot of hoodlums, there is need for clean up, which is a proactive measure by the government, in order to curb the insecurity menace.

According to him: “The rate of killings has reduced to a minimum degree in recent times, as it was almost every week, you will see dead body, and each it happens , we report to the Police for necessary action.

“So, we are not saying to the action, but the only complain we have is that the community leaders should be properly informed, so as to put their house in order. This is because, at times in the process of removing the shanties, where feel these criminals are been harboured, the indigenes houses are tampered with.

“As far as the residential structures of the indigenes are not tampered with for now, I’m calling on my people to calm down, and after this exercise, the community will have to sit down, plan the market well, so that we will have a market, as it is needed in any

Insecurity: Hundreds displaced as FCTA

clears shanties, others in Durumi

settlement”.

Earlier, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Comrade Ikharo Attah, said it was upon the FCT Minister’s directive, the Team moved into the area to address extreme notoriety, distinguishing in forms of shanties.

Attah disclosed that the place is where police reports indicate that there have been very massive secret killings.

“You could see that for the first time, the indigenes are out leading the machines to areas where people come to rob and attack them, so we are doing the clearing and we are continuing that operation based on what the Minister had asked us to do.

“We have given notice before coming for the actual removal exercise, and about two months the team had even started demolition there, but stopped, only to return yesterday to continue and complete the exercise”, he stressed.

Similarly, Kaka Bello, Head Monitoring and Enforcement, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), said although there is a lot of reported criminal activities, but the environmental issue if not abetted will lead to further things which are not good for the environment and inhabitants there.

Not left out, Olumuji Peter, Secretary, FCTA Command and Control Centre, decried that the place become a hibernating point for criminal minded people, which required the removal of all the shanties harbouring them, so that people can sleep with their two eyes closed.

Olumuji said: ‘When we got to the place, even the Chief confirmed that just few days ago, some criminal elements robbed people, and you know we are approaching the yuletide season.

“Another part of the crime here is raping of women and girls as well as killing and maiming innocent people residing within this place.

“So, the place has also become a hibernating point for criminal minded people, that is why we are removing all the shanties that normally harbour them, so that people can sleep with their two eyes closed”.