FCTA to demolish shanties in Abuja city centre over rising crime

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has vowed to resume demolition of shanties in Abuja’s city centre.

It noted that the illegal structures have become breeding grounds for crime and obstacles to development.

Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, announced this in a statement on Monday.

He noted that the demolition will focus on the Durumi axis, particularly Area 1 in Garki District.

The locations, he said, had become notorious for crimes such as carjacking, armed robbery, drug peddling, and the operations of “one-chance” syndicates.

“High-level criminal activities such as robbery, carjacking, drug peddling, and other heinous crimes with their attendant security implications for law-abiding FCT residents cannot be allowed to continue.

“The ongoing onslaught on criminal hideouts in Abuja will continue. These illegal settlements are now operational bases for kidnappers, drug peddlers, and armed robbers, making it impossible for law-abiding Nigerians to live in peace,” the statement read.

According to the statement, Minister Nyesom Wike constituted a Stakeholders’ Committee to support security agencies in tackling the menace.

The committee includes heads of security agencies, FCTA officials, civil society groups, and representatives of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Olayinka explained that the committee identified the Durumi/Area 1 corridor as one of the worst-hit areas.

“Three months ago, when security agencies carried out an operation in Area 1, Durumi, over 120 miscreants were arrested.

“Among those arrested in the three-hour operation were drug peddlers, one-chance operators, carjackers, and armed robbers.

“Seven stolen vehicles and 79 stolen motorcycles were recovered, while 155 ATM cards — snatched from victims by one-chance operators using the settlement as their base — were also found,” he said.

He added that although some shanties were cleared at the time, illegal occupants soon returned and rebuilt the structures, frustrating genuine land allottees and government agencies who have been unable to access their plots in the area for more than two decades.

“These makeshift houses are built on land allocated more than 20 years ago, but the illegal settlers and criminals who have turned the area into their abode have made it impossible for the allottees to make use of their land. Even government agencies have found it difficult to use their plots in Area 1, Durumi,” Olayinka said.

He confirmed that the FCTA has already begun demolishing other shanties in the city centre and will extend the operation to Durumi/Area 1 in the next phase.