Wike orders demolition of suspected criminal hideout

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By Omeiza Ajayi

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Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike, has ordered the FCT Department of Development Control to demolish an illegal settlement close to Karon-Majigi in Kukwaba District, Abuja.

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Wike gave the order when he led security operatives to the settlement, a suspected criminal hideout, after the FCT Security Committee Meeting on Friday.

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He explained that the directive was part of efforts to strengthen security in the nation’s capital.

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According to him, intelligence reports indicated that suspected criminals often retreated to the settlement after carrying out attacks in other parts of the FCT.

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“Look at the area. You don’t even know who the occupants are. How do you identify them? How do you know where to locate them? And this is inside the city.

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“This is a time bomb. There is no way we can allow this. The FCT Administration will not allow criminal hideouts to thrive in Abuja”, he declared.

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He directed the FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, to work with the Director of Development Control to demolish the settlement.

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The minister stressed that anyone found using such locations to aid criminal activities would face the full weight of the law.

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Earlier, the minister inspected the access road to the FCT Fire Service Station, Arterial Road SI, in Kaura District, expressing satisfaction with progress on the bridge component of the project while piling pressure on the contractor to extend the road to Oladipo Diya Way in Gaduwa District, Abuja.

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Wike expressed delight that the bridge, which was still under construction during his last visit, had now been completed. “It’s very amazing that, you know, last time we came here, this bridge was under construction. But now, it has been completed,” he said.

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He explained that the completed segment currently terminates at the bridge, but that he had directed the contractor to extend the road further to link up with Oladipo Diya Way. “The first segment of it is within the bridge that leads to that point, but we have told them that they should extend it in order to lead to Oladipo Diya Road,” he said.

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The minister disclosed that the contractor had committed to handing over the project by December, though it remained unclear whether the extension would be captured within that timeline. “I just asked the management of the company now; they are still insisting that by December, they will hand over the project. What I do not know is the extension, whether it will be included,” he said, adding that he was pushing for its inclusion.

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Wike commended the contractor’s work so far and said the FCT Administration would ensure prompt payment to sustain the pace of delivery.

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The minister described the road as critical to the transformation of the area, noting that its completion would alter the topography of the district and open it up for real estate development.

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He added that the ripple effects of such infrastructure were already visible in the pace of construction activity springing up along completed roads, which he linked directly to job creation.

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