AEPB Demolishes Illegal Markets, Shanties In FCT To Curb Criminal Activities

The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) on Saturday demolished unauthorized markets located in Area 11 and around the Federal Secretariat to curb persistent security concerns faced by residents.

Mr. Osi Braimah, the Director of AEPB, after the exercise, said the government had designated specific areas for small-scale trading but some traders failed to adhere to the guidelines.

“For security purposes, it is not good to have point of sale (POS) operators all over the place. We advise people to do things in designated places to forestall insecurity issues.

“For example, the POS operators have been told to move into plazas so as not to have POS canopies all over the expressways. This is even better for our people if the POS operators are in the plazas everyone will know them.

“This is an ongoing exercise by various agencies of the FCT. AEPB has been given a marching order by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike to clear all shanties, illegal markets and squatter camps in the FCT,” he said.

Braimah added that the part of the Federal Secretariat serving as an illegal market had encroached on a road corridor. He expressed confidence that the FCT administration would soon initiate a project to prevent the return of the traders to the area.

“The massive commencement of road projects within the FCT will soon take care of the problems of shanties in the areas.

“Part of the problems we have in the FCT is the inability of people to develop their plots after they acquire them.

“Part of the problems that we need to overcome is for people to develop their plots quickly, clean them, and use them for the purposes they are meant for and not leave them vacant,” Braimah appealed.

On his part, KaKa Bello, AEPB’s Deputy Director, Monitoring and Enforcement Department, said the demolition is a normal routine exercise carried out by the board to clean the city, adding that the Area 11 market was allocated to help residents within the area during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“After the COVID-19 pandemic, the traders were expected to go back to Garki Market where most of them have shops but unfortunately this is two years after, and most of them have refused to go back.

“Things that were not approved to be sold at the market are now being sold there to constitute nuisance to the area, the market was meant to take care of only groceries.

“The environment here is unhealthy, we have given them notice of vacation before now and this is the final notice. By the time we come back on Oct. 21 we will roll the machines to finally break the place down,” he warned.

Bello further said that the market is a rail corridor and that a “park and pay” area would soon be developed to prevent return of illegal occupants.