The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) started demolishing unlawful structures behind the former Federal Secretariat in Area 1 Abuja on Wednesday.
The administration had issued a demolition notice to the owners of the structures in February 2022, with a deadline of March 1 to vacate the premises.
The FCTA was concerned about the rate at which shanties sprouted up in the region, according to Mr Ikharo Attah, Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection, and Enforcement to the FCT Minister, who spearheaded the effort.
He regretted that the secretariat, which houses the Interior, Trade, and Investment Ministers, had been taken over by illegitimate structures, posing a security threat to the nation’s capital.
Attah added that the demolition was prompted by a succession of recent complaints from security authorities and worried citizens.
“It is worrisome, we have been receiving a series of complaints from security agencies and concerned persons, so, as part of our efforts to clean the federal capital of shanties, we have to start the pulling down of the illegal structures.
“The FCT Administration will not allow shanties to take over ministries of Interior and that of Trade and Investment with other key ministries.
“It would have been done in 2021 but because of the wet season we had to leave it till now, dry season, even now, is not easy but we have to do it. We warned them time without number to vacate the place”
According to Attah, the IDPs were few in number on the outskirts of the Dunamis church and near the main road, despite assertions by the proprietors of the unlawful constructions that they were Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Borno state.
Sen. Ali Ndume (APC-Borno), who was in the area during the exercise, urged for the IDPs to be profiled.
“We are all Nigerians, we must obey rules and regulations, there is nothing wrong with demolishing structures serving as security threat to offices belonging to senior government officials.
“Therefore, let all of you that know that you are IDPs write down your names for proper documentation,” he said.
