The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Tuesday destroyed shanties and makeshifts structures to intensify efforts against activities of scavengers at Kubwa. Mr. Ikharo Attah, Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to FCT minister led the operation in Abuja, in collaboration with the leader of the Joint Security Team, CSP Solomon Adebayo. Attah said that the operation was necessitated by the increased rate of insecurity in the area, especially close to Kubwa train station where people are being attacked as from 6.00 p.m. “We came here to actually address security problems; we came here with the full support and directive of the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, and FCT Commissioner of Police, Mr. Sunday Babaje. “This effort will enable the FCT Administration to tackle the issue of miscreants and scavengers who wreck havoc on persons in the territory.
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“This is the connecting area between Kubwa and Biazhin and there is so much cases of report from this rail corridor and rail station that many people cannot even pass after 6.00 p.m. “You dare not pass this area after 6.00 p.m., many people have been robbed, stabbed with knife and other dangerous weapons as well as dispossessed of their belongings here,” he said. The minister’s aide, however, said that machines could not get to a particular stretch so the team had to set the shanties and makeshifts structures on fire. He promised that the operation would be sustained to ensure that scavengers and other illegal occupants of the area did not return. “I can’t really quantify the number of shanties but my desires is to sack the shanties and free this area of all criminal elements . “The residents are in jubilation even though they are scared to show their faces to journalists. They are happy because some boys scale the fence of the estate around the area and rob them without being challenged,” he said. Attah, however, disclosed that in the course of the operation, some drugs that are being sold around the area were found and handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s personnel. Reacting, a resident of the area who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being attack commended the FCTA for a job well done. “This is a very strong spot and no man’s land because they take anything that can make them high. They take and sell hard drugs. “Once they take drugs they don’t respect anyone. This is very dangerous, we do our business during the day and close before 6.00 p.m. because of the insecurity situation around here”. Also, Mr Mark Ulogwu, another resident who was once attacked by miscreants in the area, expressed happiness that the shanties were destroyed. ” I have been living here since 1989, I am very happy about the destruction of this shanties. In this town, this is the kind of place criminals hide,” he said. Ulogwu urged the FCT to regularly check the area because the scavengers would rebuild the shanties after two or three months.