Harvest of hard drugs as security operatives raid shanties in Wuye, Jabi

By Stanley Onyekwere

There was harvest of hard drugs suspected to be cannabis concealed  in seven bags were discovered beneath the ground when the army and police jointly raided some slum settlements in Wuye and Jabi Districts of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Also, several suspects were arrested during the raid carried out at the weekend, by the security operatives including local vigilante group and officials of the FCT Administration, aimed at flushing out criminal elements, following the escalation of kidnapping in the FCT.

In particular, an army unit and other security operatives accompanied officials of  FCTA Development and Control, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) and Abuja Parks and Recreation, to raid shanties in Jabi DakiBiyu and Wuye District.

Our correspondent reports that when the FCTA officials stormed the area for the exercise, it was observed that some of the suspected criminals opened fire upon sighting the security contingents in Jabi.

Speaking with newsmen,  Director of Security Services Department of the FCTA, Adamu Gwary, said the raid was authorised following a report that criminals, constituting nuisance to the society, were hiding in the areas.

Gwary added that the arrested suspects had been handed over to the FCT Police Command for prosecution while the seized cache of Indian Hemps had also been handed over as exhibit to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

“We addressed the areas at the fringes of Jabi and Wuye District when we received a report. You can see the quantity of drugs uncovered in the course of the operation. We visited the shanties that are within the forest between Jabi and Wuye district where such shanties were removed.

“ Large quantity of weeds, found to be Indian hemp, was discovered. You can also see the way and manner at which such drugs were conceived in many bags. It presupposes that such shanties are not only covering the activities of the petty criminals but drug barons.

“The NDLEA, which the exhibits were handed over to, will weigh it and give their own reports, which will generally be put together and inform the administration,” Gwary explained.

However, the Director also decried the problem of undeveloped plots of land and abandoned buildings that are providing cover for criminals in the Territory.

Similarly, he condemned the flagrant environmental abuse at the Park, while adding that the union leadership at the park had been warned that it would be liable for any act of lawlessness discovered at the frontage of the motor park.

He revealed that at a recent FCT Security committee meeting, both the AMMC and Development Control as the city managers were mandated to enumerate those properties without further delay and take the necessary procedures against those who fail to develop or refuse to develop their allocated property.

Furthermore, he assured that the FCTA would now confront headlong the problem of open urination on both sides of the road at Jabi Motor Park, where several business offices are located.