In its new security measures, the Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA has warned the original inhabitants of the nation’s capital against renting out their economic tree plantations to scavengers, otherwise known as “babanbolas”. Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to the FCT Minister, Mr Attah Ikharo gave the warning when he led a cleanup exercise in Mabushi and Jahi areas of Abuja. He said “the cashew trees are no longer economic trees again, they are insecurity trees because whenever we go out we see criminals hiding under the trees. They have become safe havens for criminals. We have already told the indigenous people that any cashew plantation that is rented out to babanbolas, when we get there we won’t spare the trees because we must touch every illegal structures in the plantation and remove them. If anybody rents out his property to illegal occupants, we condemn it totally and if we get the owner, we will report the owner to the police and if the criminality is too much we will report to the Minister to take the necessary action. Gatemen should also stop renting undeveloped plots out for shanties”.
According to him, it is unacceptable for owners of undeveloped land or buildings under construction to rent out their property for illegal land use different from what was in the plan. He said that henceforth, the task force team will report owners of such property to the police and if the level of crime in the area is much, it would seek permission from the Minister to take the necessary action. Ikharo said “we are removing babanbolas, shanties around Mabushi area close to Orji Uzor Kalu house. The FCT Commissioner of Police, Sunday Babaji had explained to the FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello on the need to actually clear this area in order to make it more secure. The Minister of FCT directed us to clear all babanbolas in this area, just by Orji Uzor Kalu house. It is part of our agenda to clear the city and today we found someone’s national identity card and international passport, that were probably stolen. This is a high brow area and it won’t be right for babanbolas to stay here. We will be handing them over to the appropriate agencies to locate the owners of the identity card and international passport.
“We also saw custom’s helment, we saw police cap, official coat of arms which can be for a government agency”. Assistant Director of Enforcement at the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, AEPB, Kaka Bello, while speaking on behalf of Director of AEPB Osilamah Braimoh, said there was no going back on the decision that all the scavengers must move to dump sites to do their business. “The implications to the environment is that it is degrading the it and hazardous to the health of the people in the areas. The babanbolas that are being removed today had been removed severally but they keep coming back. Anyone who wants to do the business of wastes recycling must do it at the dump sites in Abuja. We have had series of meetings with them and told them that if they must operate, they must use the dump sites and we have over 90 hectares of land which they can use for recycling”, he added.
