Officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Tuesday, August 29, demolished an illegal market popularly called Kasuan-Dere, a suspected hideout for hoodlums and drug dealers.
Speaking after the demolition, the director FCT Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima said the market on Hassan Musa Katsina Street, near Kpaduma II in Asokoro Extension was becoming a threat to the residents and passerby.
He noted that the place had been turned into an area that criminals activities are carried out despite the relentless efforts of the Administration to sanitize the place.
Galadima said miscreants’ operation in the area was also affecting the aesthetic quality of the entire environment and must not be allowed to continue.
He said: “We had demolished the place about three times but the nuisances continue, this time around we are doing it for the last time and it must stay, we need to sanitize the place and enhance the aesthetic quality of the environment.
“It is also part of the current Administration’s policy of sanitizing the city, this is one area we are starting the exercise. The area has so much to do with security threat, information available to us revealed that there are some miscreants, drug dealers and many other men of the underworld.
“The operation will help us get rid of the hoodlums and drug dealers that have taken over the place”.
Contributing, the secretary FCTA command and control, Peter Olumuji, said the area has been a source of concern to the residents because of the vices that have been taking place.
Olumuji said: “After the cleaning, we will put measures in place to ensure that we have a pin down point here, it will help people to pass here at any time without fear of attack, the exercise is going to be sustained. The combined team of the task force will be on a standby to ensure that nothing affects the people.”
The village head of Kpaduma, Bitrus Yakubu commended the FCT Administration for coming to rescue them from hoodlums.
He said: “The place has been here for over twenty years but today it has gone down for our good. We are very happy as a community because with the clearing of the area the residents we have peace of mind.”