FCTA Raids BDC Headquarters, Dislodges Shanties

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The task force team of the Federal Capital Territory Administration has dislodged shanties around the Bureau De Change (BDC) headquarters in Zone 4, Abuja.

The Director, Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, who led the enforcement, said the shanties were serving as hideout for suspected criminals in the city centre.

He expressed concern over the high level of criminal and unwholesome activities taking place in the area by some unlicensed operators.

He noted that those illegal activities were constituting a threat to FCT security, saying as a result the structures must not be allowed to remain.

Galadima said BDC owners were expected to operate from designated and licenced areas and not under trees and bushes as was the case in Zone 4.

He insisted the enforcement was in line with the directive to sanitise and rid the area of all illegalities to keep the environment and the territory safe and had noting with the volatility in the exchange rate of the naira to other hard currencies

Asked on why the area had not been developed for a long time, he said the place was under litigation till court decided.

“Our clean up exercise here is based on directive for us to keep sanity.

“The place is a sorry situation in terms of aesthetic. It serves as a hideout for criminals and miscreants and that is why we have to come and clear everything.

“The place is still under litigation but you see, security is paramount so also safety and cleanliness. We have to look at these parameters very well not forgetting that the site is under litigation but we have to provide safety and security for Abuja residents,”Galadima said.

Also the Secretary Command and Control Centre, FCT Administration, Dr Peter Olumuji, said the area was part of the axis experiencing security challenges in the city centre, from the Abuja Continental Hotel (Sheraton hotel) through Zone 4 going to the National Mosque.

“You can see shanties which are not supposed to be in the city centre, harbouring the criminal elements. They operate by disposing residents around the area and they come down here to hibernate. They attack residents and road users within the area.

“We have recovered weapons from them which they use in attacking the residents and motorists around the place. We also have drug related issues and other cases that occur here,” Olumuji said.