By Stanley Onyekwere
In continuation of its citywide cleanup, the FCT Administration yesterday removed brothels, shanties and drinking joints,in Karasana district of Abuja.
While speaking to journalists at the site, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Mr. Ikharo Attah, who led the team, explained that they had to cleanup the area, as the security challenges there, was becoming very worrisome and unacceptable.
Attah added that residents in the area at various times had complained both to the security agencies and the administration.
According to him, “The Minister of FCT Malam Muhammad Bello received series of complaints from Karasana district residents especially on the security challenges in the district.
“So, as a listening Minister he sent us here to tackle the batchers and shanties that are enjoying the comfort of the cashew forest here so we had to remove them as well as the cashew plantation .
“We were surprised to discover a place where they take hard drugs , their own brothel and some illegalities.
“What is really disturbing we saw which is very worrisome is that we discovered the identity card, ATM cards of a particular staff of AEDC, am sure she doesn’t live here in the forest with them here , criminals must have likely robbed her of all her ATM and Identity cards and the police will investigate this. I was reliably informed that when they raided here about a year ago they recovered three shot guns. This place is one of the horrible den of criminals in this area.
He continued, “We have been at the other side of Karasana and what we saw here is very disturbing and we saw guys that are obviously high on some hard substance , their red shot eyes , drug joints, heavy brothel, joints for drinks , all within the cashew forest”.
The Minister’s Aide, however warned, “Any owner of cashew plantation who rents it out to owners of shanties and batchers, illegal shops, we will bring it down”.
Similarly, the Assistant Director, Enforcement, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), TPL Kaka Bello reiterated the commitment of the administration in maintaining the enforcement efforts and appealed to security agencies in the area to arrest and prosecute anyone that return to build shanties in the area.
He however, lamented about the rate of illegal squatters and selling various kinds of products.
On his part, Secretary of FCTA Command and Control Unit, Peter Olumuji, said the removal was through intelligence report through the people residing within this environment who identified the place and reported it.
Commenting on sustainability, he said all the security agencies in the area are in collaboration with the team, so after the removal the police division in the area has been charged by the FCT Commissioner of Police, to sustain the clearance operation here.
