By Sarah NEGEDU
To check the worrisome reports of robbery attacks around the Kubwa train station, the FCT Administration on Tuesday began the removal of shanties and make shift homes built by scavengers in Kubwa.
The FCT Minister Taskforce Team, led by the Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to FCT Minister, Ikharo Attah, said the frequent attacks on the railway corridor will not be tolerated.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after clean up exercise Attah said, “This is the connecting area between Kubwa and Biazhin and there is so much cases from this rail corridor and rail station that many person cannot even pass after 6pm. You dare not pass this area after 6pm. Many persons have been robbed and stabbed with knife and other dangerous weapons and dispossesses them of their belongings here.
“Machines cannot get to that stretch so we had to set the shanties on fire. From what we gathered, some drugs that are being sold around here, were found and were being handled by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, personnel.
“The residents were jubilating even though they were scared to show their faces to journalists. They were so happy because most of those boys scale the fence of the estate around here and rob them without being challenged.”
On sustaining the exercise, the Taskforce chairman said the team will carry-out regular cleanup in the area until they give up on the location.
“We came here last year, it was densely populated by batchers and what we see today is about 40% of what we removed last year. If they come again we will be waiting for them. Most of the things we recovered are daggers, attack knives, light weapons etc. They even extended their batchers close to the train tracks”.
Mark Ulogwu, who is also a resident in the area and was once attacked by miscreants in the area, expressed gladness over the removal of the shanties.
He said, “This is a very strong spot and a no man’s land where miscreants take and sell hard drugs with no fear or regards for law enforcement agents.
“I have been living here since 1989, I am very happy about destruction of this shanties. In this town this is the kind of place criminals hide. The FCT need to be coming back to keep checking the place because am sure once;they move out in the next two or three months, they will come back to this place.
“Am sure if they are doing their businesses quietly I don’t think the government would have sacked them, I believe they came based on things that have happened around here, I personally was attacked on this spot and the okada man abandoned me. I was robbed, they collected all my valuables and I was beaten seriously.
“In order to address ensure they don’t come back the administration can put fence like babwire or something to stop them from coming back,” he advised.
