The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Monday stormed Gishiri community within the neighbourhood of Maitama District, demolishing all illegal shelters of suspected criminal elements.
This was even as it vowed to go harder on illegal squatters as a measure to control influx of people into the city.
Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to FCT Minister, Ikharo Attah who led the team said while the administration will not stop Nigerians to migrate and live in Abuja, illegal structures can’t be allowed to deface the city.
He noted that Gishiri community has a close proximity to the highbrow Maitama District, hence the need to strictly regulate human activities there.
He said the administration has received several complaints of security breaches 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 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 for 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.
