The Federal Capital Territory Administration on Friday, vowed to sustain the demolition of illegal structures, markets and shanties encroaching on rail corridors.
This is as the administration specifically frowned at the rapid growth of slum settlement around the rail corridor in Gwarimpa.
Speaking with journalists shortly after a cleanup exercise at Gwarimpa, the Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to the Minister of FCT, Comrade Ikharo Attah, said the FCTA remains committed to clearing all criminal hideouts in the nation’s capital.
According to him, “The land belongs to FCT Administration and was designed as a transit part connecting the Kubwa outer northern road, that it has not been awarded does not mean that people should encroached on it and build offensive market, batchers and shanties that serve as criminal hideout.
“The park and recreation are aware of it, and the police had advised that the administration should build a fence around it. To keep out intruders”.
On the sustainability of the exercise Attah said , “last year, we cleared this place, and we are here today, we will keep coming until the criminals and those breaking the laws learn to stop coming back.”
Earlier he disclosed that the Police Commissioner, Sunday Babaji and Police DPO in Gwarimpa had gotten report of criminal activities going on in the area, as residents complained of criminals taking cover in the shanties.
He said some arrests of people caught with illicit drugs were made by the officers of the NDLEA of the command and control JTF team.
“The Police also arrested three suspected criminals and the NDLEA arrested two people peddling drugs. This is a big task, but we are not giving up. We will keep coming until they stop to come.
The joint tasks team comprises of officials of the FCTA, Nigerian army, the Nigeria police force, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Nigeria Immigration Service the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Department of State Services, Directorate of Road Traffic Services, and Abuja Environmental Protection Board, AEPB.
