It was a hellish experience for residents of Utako village on Thursday when they engaged in a hot fight with scavengers to salvage their properties after the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) demolition bulldozers rammed into hundreds of shanties believed to have been illegally constructed.
The scavengers, who defied the presence of security operatives at the demolition site, were seen snatching different materials from owners who obviously were overwhelmed by the pains of the demolition.
Director, Department of Development Control, Muktar Galadima explained that the clean-up exercise was not just a routine one, but a special operation to remove all illegal structures and pave the way for original allottees to regain their land.
Galadima noted that quit notice had been given to the squatters long ago to enable them safely relocate.
The Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to FCT Minister, Ikharo Attah, said the operation was also targeted at addressing perennial traffic and criminal activities in the area.
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Attah, who doused tension generated over speculation that the homes of the indigenous people within the village would be demolished, assured that only illegal structures on the land allocated to the FCT Police Command was earmarked for demolition.
He also added the clean-up exercise would help to restore the environmental sanitation and aesthetic of the Utako District.
“We are only removing the illegal shanties to reclaim the land for the original allottees. We are not demolishing the houses of indigenous people.
“The clean-up will also help to address the disturbing traffic gridlock and also criminal activities of miscreants in the place, ” Attah said.