Some Police officers from the Apo Division of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command have expressed excitement over the demolition of one of the identified notorious criminal hideouts within the Apo Settlement Cadastral Zone district.
The officers, though, couldn’t speak to newsmen owing to official restrictions, but visited the site while the taskforce’s bulldozers were pulling down the makeshift shelters and the clusters of cashew trees said to be providing a hibernation point to the alleged criminals, said the place had been one of the flash points in Apo.
Confirming the Police’s concerns, the Director, Department of Development Control of FCTA, Mukhtar Galadima, said that it has been established by verifiable intelligence that the place has been contributing to the insecurity of Apo and the environment.
Galadima disclosed that the place is not just a dark spot, but there have been reports of killings by miscreants within the environment, making the area a huge security threat to other residents.
He said, “This is part of the continuation of the city sanitation and exercise to rid the city of criminal elements. So this place has been identified as one of the notorious dark spots. I recall also that efforts were made in the past, but this time around, we came in to do a total clearance of the place.
“ There are credible and verifiable security and intelligence reports about these locations. Instances where some people were even killed around this place.
“ So, for the fact that this place was identified as a dark spot, it’s enough for this exercise to continue. So that’s why we’re here, and we will make sure that we clear this place once and for all. Unlike before that we just come and push the shanties. This time around, we are going to remove everything and even fence the place.
According to Galadima, the FCT administration has devised a strategy to keep miscreants away from recovered green areas and empty plots of land.
“ We have applied many options, but this time around, we are going to devise a new strategy which I won’t like to say now. By the time we take action, then you people will see and identify that this is a new strategy for handling some of these crises”, he added.
Also speaking, Dr. Peter Olumuji, who represented the Director, FCTA Director, Security Department, Adamu Gwary, also confirmed that reports available to them showed that the residents around the area have at various times complained about the criminal activities of the place.
He further disclosed that apart from the place being a hub for suspected armed robbers, illicit drug peddling has also been thriving in the area.
“ We have issues like illicit drug peddling and sales here, and intake. We have issues of armed robbery and even housebreaking within this environment. Just so you know, a few weeks ago, there was this attack on the residents that the criminal element used as a cover. Thank God for the good response time of the Nigerian police and sister agencies that were able to repel them.
“Over 50 armed robbers came here to attack the residents. But the quick response from the FCT police command and sister agencies prevented that attack from snowballing”, he said.
