TOYIN ADEBAYO, ABUJA
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has demolished four brothels, 14 beer parlours and other illegal structures in Jabi village, which is located in the heart of the nation’s capital.
Newsfocus gathered that, security personnels had to teargas the villagers who were trying to resist the demolition the exercise.
The demolition left the ‘runs girls’ and shops owners wailing and raining abusive words on the administration.
It would be recalled that, the FCTA had issued several warnings and demolition notices to shop owners and some residents of the illegal settlement to remove their belongings as the Administration intended to clear the area which is not only distorting the Abuja Master plan but also serving as save haven for criminals while indigenes would be resettled.
These warnings were however, said not to have been taken seriously by those operating businesses and living there even after their shops and houses were marked by the authorities about eight times.
Our correspondent gathered that, ” when bulldozers belonging to the the FCTA Department of Development Control arrived and started pulling down the structures, the whole area was turned to tears and yellings by the owners who lamented that their means of livelihood destroyed while attempts to resist the exercise was quelled by security operatives who fired gunshots in the air to scare them.
“Apart from shop and house owners, commercial sex workers also joined in the lamentations as no fewer than four brothels were equally demolished during the exercise.
“Some of those who properties were affected told newsmen that they were not given enough notice before the demolition, describing it as height of insensitivity on the part of government”.
Addressing newsmen, the Director of Development Control in the FCTA, Mucktar Galadinma said the Administration had carried out adequate sensitization meetings with the villagers and marked the structures long time before the exercise.
He further stated ; “My advice is that they should not build any commercial structure along this corridor because this is supposed to be an indigenous community but the proliferation of these commercial activities are attracting men of the underworld and even making the environment dirty”.
Similarly, the FCTA Director of Security, Adamu Gwary said the proliferation of shanties in the community made it a save haven for criminals and the FCT Administration will definitely not condone that, hence the demolition.
Gwary, however, explained that: “This notice is timely, it would have been done during the first term of Muhammad Bello (FCT Minister) but due to so many considerations we stepped some of these things down but something has to be done and this is in the interest of the general public”.
Meanwhile , the Chairman of FCT Task Team on City Sanitation, Comrade Ikharo Attah hinted that most of the shops that were turning the place to an eyesore and some brothels were removed at the instance of the original inhabitants of the FCT whose buildings were not touched.
“If you go around the buildings some places have been marked for about 8 times and the people believe that the government is not serious because when empathy is brought to the fore and pity is iceing the cake of enforcement people think that the government is not serious. The Department of Development Control has come here severally to issue warnings”, he noted.
One of the residents, who does not want his name mentioned said, “I share a wall with one of the brothels, in the night my little children use to hear strange noises. Which is not good for their upbringing. I am happy that the place is demolished.”
Moses Samuel stated that, “We are all Nigerians what they are doing is not good. They don’t give us notice, they demolished our houses, I don’t know why our political leaders are not here”.
Also, a food seller who refused to mention her name said: “They told us that they will come but nobody belief it, it was yesterday they supposed to come but we did not see them, even yesterday I cooked very well, but today I don’t cook well.
