Bala Bans ‘Unlawful Protest, Illegal Shanties’ in Abuja

Henceforth, the FCT Administration has said it will not accept any breakdown of law and order in the name of unlawful demonstration in the Federal Capital Territory.
The FCT Minister, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed CON, gave this warning in an emergency meeting with Chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council; some graded chiefs as well as local chiefs in his office, at Area 11, Garki I District, Abuja on Tuesday.
It would be recalled that some native women staged a demonstration over alleged planned removal of shanties and illegal structures from villages along the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Expressway (Airport Road) on Monday (March 24, 2014).
The Minister unequivocally said that his Administration has always been carrying the natives along in all the FCT Administration’s policies and programmes and therefore would not fold its arms for any group to take the laws into their hands.
His words: “We have tried to deepen community relation because Abuja is a national project but disregard for law and order is unacceptable”.
As Senator Mohammed frowned at use of women who are vulnerable in our society for such illegal demonstration, he emphasized that the government would hold the local chiefs responsible for any breakdown of law and order in future.
“Sending our women on the street to demonstrate is mischievous and regrettable. You should not allow yourselves to be used against the government,” the Minister added.
Senator Mohammed insisted that no group of persons could prevent any arm of government from carrying out its statutory duties.
According to him, the FCT Administration has records of all the natives as well as their buildings, which he stressed, would not be removed until the government has adequately compensated and resettled them.
He however warned that any structure outside the already enumerated ones might not be spared, as they constitute security risk.