The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has declared that it will ensure the clearance of all illegal settlements, especially shanties harbouring criminals and obstructing developmental projects in the Federal Capital City, adding that “the ongoing onslaught on criminal hideouts in Abuja will continue.” The FCTA described as worrisome the security threats emanating from parts of Durumi District, particularly Area 1 in Garki District, saying: “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.” In his bid to ensure a safer FCT, the Minister, Nyesom Wike, set up a Stakeholders’ Committee comprising heads of security agencies, FCTA officials, Civil Society Organisations, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), and others. Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, who made this known in a statement on Monday, said it was identified at the committee meeting that, apart from preventing land allottees from making use of their plots and government from carrying out developmental projects, the shanties in Area 1, Durumi had become operational bases for criminals, especially kidnappers, drug peddlers and one-chance operators. The statement reads: “Three months ago, when security agencies carried out an operation in Area 1, Durumi, over 120 miscreants were arrested. Among those apprehended in the operation, which lasted more than three hours, were drug peddlers, one-chance operators, carjackers and armed robbers. “Seven stolen vehicles and 79 stolen motorcycles were recovered, while 155 ATM cards were also seized. These ATM cards belonged to victims of one-chance operators, who were using the settlement as their base. At the time, some of the shanties in Area 1, Durumi, were cleared. But today, the shanties are back, and the criminals have regrouped, making the area uninhabitable for law-abiding Nigerians. “Also, these shanties and 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 plots. Even government agencies have found it difficult to utilise their land in Area 1, Durumi. “Consequently, the FCTA is already clearing shanties in the City Centre, and those in Area 1, Durumi will be cleared very soon.” ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE