FCTA Taskforce intensifies clampdown on drug colony as criminal elements regroup

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Ministerial TaskForce on City Sanitation, has vowed to intensify clampdown on drug colonies operated within the Territory, just as the criminal elements have regrouped threatening to rebuild the colony demolished last week by the Administration.

Addressing Journalists after a routine surveillance and cleaning exercise, the Chairman of the Task Force, Ikharo Attah, said several packages of outlawed hard drugs and some weapons, like knives, axe and clubs were found in the place.

Attah confirmed that several members of the drug cartel fled the Area, leaving their wares, while noting that two of the gang members were arrested and handed over to operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) who were also in the team.

Attah noted that constant raiding of the areas have become imperative, as total sanitation and safety of the city can’t be achieved with desperate criminal elements left around the fringes of the city’s major road corridors.

“The FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammad Bello, gave us a directive to clear alignment from the Oladipo Diya Junction to the popular Apo Roundabouts.

“After we finished clearing the illegal motor park, we discovered that there is a very notorious drug market going on along that road corridor, and a little bit further up the hill.

“We were here last week when we got so many of the hard drugs and arrested the dealers while some persons escaped, but today we have gone back there.

Sadly, those we have cleared came back to rebuild their tents. We have cleared the rebuilt structures and recovered the drugs left by those who fled.

“We recovered so many raps of Indian hem and many bottles of codeine and several hard drugs. We also arredted two persons found at the scene.

Declare a state of emergency on rape, SGBV now – NHRC

We have also discovered an illegal abattoir and recovered two rams. We have given 7 days notice to all the commercial people around Oladipo Diya junction, because trading is not allowed here.”

According to Attah, all the illegal human settlements along the road, obstructing the road construction, and distorting the city’s master plan will not be spared, but that due diligent procedures will be followed.

Also speaking, a Director in the FCT Department of Resettlement and Compensation, Nasiru Suleiman, said that one of the village constituting a nuisance by the road corridor will be demolished at due time, but those trading there have been given 7 days notice of demolition.

Suleiman noted that the affected villagers have been properly compensated and resettled, and that the processes of removing all the illegal structures were on going.

“All the people living in this Village have been resettled, We have given them 135 houses and all we supposed to give have been given. We served them notice since January.

We have come to give them the last notice, so that they will move out. They have to give way because they are disturbing the construction of the road interchange” Suleiman said.