The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA has expressed determination to continue its onslaught against organized criminal gangs, vowing to rid the nation’s capital, Abuja, of all criminal dens and illegal structures.

Addressing journalists during an operation to remove some of those structures in the Jahi District of the territory, Director, Department of Development Control, Town Planner Mukhtar Galadima said the exercise is a continuation of the city cleaning and sanitation programme of the Nyesom Wike administration.

Galadima, who led the joint team of personnel from the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Directorate of Road Traffic Services, among others said; “To a large extent, what we are doing now is enhancing the security architecture of the Federal Capital Territory and enhancing the architectural quality of the Federal Capital City, because we are removing shanties. So, to a large extent, this is improving greatly the livability of Abuja as Federal Capital City.

“The place that we are operating today is a proposed corridor of arterial N2 road. It is a road that is starting all the way from Nnamdi Azikiwe ring road up to the Ring Road 2. So it is a proposed arterial corridor.

“We are going to consult with the relevant stakeholders to know the use that we are going to put before the main road comes into operation.

“There are a lot of places that we have gone round to sensitize the settlers, and then also to prepare our strategies against the occurrence of this kind of shanties”.

On his part, Secretary, Command and Control Unit, Department of Security Services in the FCTA, Mr Peter Olumuji said; “There are a lot of vices that are associated with this particular location. In fact, during our removal today we recovered a strangler, an equipment which these One-chance operators use to strangulate their victims in the vehicle and those on top motorcycles in the night.

“Once they use this to strangle a person, there is no way the person will survive and if he/she survives, any item he/she is holding will definitely be dropped. The implication on security is that this will curb the level of insecurity within this environment, which is between Gwarinpa and Mabushi.

“We also realized that even during this process of removal, they started to rob themselves. So, if they can do that to themselves, then you can imagine what they would do to innocent passersby within this place and those residing here.

“Part of what we are doing is this clearance operation which has to do with removing illegal structures and shanties that harbour them.

“The cashew plantation is another cause of concern, which we have also removed here because most of the time, these people hide under the cashew plantation. It is like a natural cover that will prevent people from knowing what is happening there but we have been working and have already started removing the cashew plantations that had given them a safe haven”, he said. (Vanguard)

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