***Promises To Take Action Against Many Illegal Structures
Gishiri village in the Maitama District was invaded by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), who demolished multiple illegal hideouts for alleged criminal group.
This was in spite of its assurance that it would prosecute unlicensed squatters more severely in an effort to reduce the city’s population growth.
According to Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to FCT Minister, Comrade Ikharo Attah, who led the team, the administration will not prevent Nigerians from moving to and settling in Abuja but cannot permit illegal structures to deface the city.
He pointed out that the necessity for this was caused by the near proximity of the Gishiri village to the elite Maitama District.
According to him, the administration has received several complaints of security breeches emanating from the community.
” The influx of people are responsible for the increasing shanties, they are even taking over the streets. People who come into Abuja, can stay in the suburb than coming to places where they live under trees, bridges everywhere. We won’t condone that.
” We are carrying out this exercise because we got a lot of complaints over the weekend. And as you can see, shanties have started springing up from the community up to the Maitama junction.
” That is why we had to quickly come and clear them, because they serve as safe haven to criminals. Criminals hang around in these shanties to attack the neighbourhood.
Also speaking, the Assistant Director of Enforcement in Abuja Environmental Protection Board, Kaka Bello said the shanties in Gishiri had been demolished several times, but deviant people continue to erect more.
Bello stated that the enforcement won’t be stopped until people begin to respect the rules of the city.
He added that apart from the shanties destroying the Environmental beauty of the city, they equally contribute to the festering insecurity which all relevant agencies have been confronting.
