By Stanley Onyekwere
The Department of Development Control, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC)of the FCT Administration, yesterday demolished shanties, illegally built on a road corridor in Wuse Zone 3, in the nation’s capital city.
It was gathered that the shanties situated at an area popularly called by the occupants as Unguwan Yan Lambu, were built over 27 years ago.
However, the shanties have been demolished several times, but were rebuilt by the occupants.
Speaking after the latest removal exercise, the AMMC Coordinator, Mr. Felix Obuah, told journalists that the move was part of efforts to clear all shanties in the city.
Obuah said that the location was preserved for a road corridor, but was illegally occupied by unknown people, posing a security threat, and defacing the beauty of the city.
“Also disturbing is that criminals and miscreants have made this location a safe haven.
“So, we decided to come and clear all the shanties and remove the criminals that have taken over the road corridor to give Abuja its desired beauty.
“We can’t allow this again. Our aim is to beautify the city and make Abuja a city we will all be proud of,” he said.
He added that a taskforce would be set up to make sure that none of the illegal occupants and rebuild any shanty in the area again.
Meanwhile, the Coordinator revealed plans to explore the option of relocating the occupants to a permanent location to ensure that no one returns.
He said: “We are going to write a memo to the FCT Minister, Mr. Nyesom Wike, to seek his approval and see how far we can go about the relocation plan.
“From what we can see, there are huge number of people illegally residing here. So, if we can relocate them within a very short possible time, they will come back here again.
“We are also going to make provisions to make sure that they do not suffer undue hardship.
“You see, some of the occupants are very young; some with children, and out of my pocket, I have donated a small amount of money to enable them to relocate immediately.
“If we don’t take this measure now, they will go to another place and create nuisance.”
While reacting to the development, chairman of the community, Malam Mohammed Musa, noted that the area was occupied by about 1,000 people, including women and children.
Musa added that the occupants, predominantly dry season farmers, have been there for about 27 years, with some made up of 15 family members.
He however, acknowledged receiving a notice of the demolition and thanked the government for allowing them to stay there for over 27 years, making a living in dry season farming.
He called on the FCT Administration to help them find succour, as some of them were displaced from their home by criminal elements behind the seemingly unending insecurity menace in the country.
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