The FCT Administration has extended its ongoing city sanitation exercise, to the removal of drug peddlers and other miscreants off the streets of Abuja.
The FCT Minister’s Taskteam on Tuesday, arrested five suspected criminals selling illicit drugs under the flyover in Wuse.
Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to the minister of FCT, Ikharo Attah, who led the exercise decried the frequent defacing and wrong use of flyovers by food vendors and destitute who convert them to homes.
According to Attah, “We went round all the bridges in city center, we were very shocked at what we saw right in the center of Abuja. We saw people living under the bridge with massive business activities. We noticed eroded soil around some of the bridges, some of the bridges were charred due to the activities of food vendors, welders.
We also arrested 5 men with Indian hemp and they would be taken for investigation. This is part of Abuja cleanup and we will sustain the cleanup of Abuja.
Head of Monitoring and Enforcement at the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, Kaka Bello, lamented the huge environmental degradation going on under the flyovers in city center.
He said it was unfortunate that public properties that belongs to every residents is being destroyed by few people and this is unacceptable.
“We are here to stop all illegal activities under the bridges and we have arrested some people and they will be charged to court.
“Apart from degradation and destruction of public properties, these miscreants can also pose a huge security threat to the territory and that’s why we have to nip it in the bud.”