By Ben Adoga
Five security men attached to the FCTA enforcement team were on Wednesday attached and injured while enforcing seizure of biked on illegal routes.
Recall that on Tuesday, the same task force members were attacked by hoodlums along the Abuja Airport road.
10 suspected hoodlums were, however, arrested in the Kuchingoro area of Abuja when they were overpowered by the combined team of security agents.
The Taskforce team was in the community in continuation of its ongoing massive clean-up and the clampdown on Okada riders violating traffic rules along the Lugbe-Airport road axis.
Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection, and Enforcement to FCT Minister, Ikharo Attah who was among the officers who escaped unhurt, said the hoodlums were angered that the shanties and illegal structures housing them under electrical high tension installations were being removed.
Attah reaffirmed that the Taskforce will not be deterred by the serial attacks by people who are opposed to the enforcement of orders and regulations needed to make Abuja a model city.
According to him, while lawless people remain defiant to orders and policies of the government, the enforcement team will also remain committed to its mandate.
He said, ” We came here to remove illegal structures that are painting Airport road in a bad light, we were clearing the roadsides of traders, Okada riders, all of a sudden, some hoodlums appeared and started throwing stones.
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“We were able to push them back because we have to clean up the roads. Unfortunately, five of our personnel sustainable various degrees of injury from the stones.
“We arrested about 10 persons suspected to have participated in the attack.
“We are not deterred, the Airport road must be cleaned. So many of the structures were built under high tension wire, and we are pushing Okada riders and taxi drivers back to the community”, he added.
An Islamic cleric in the Kuchingoro community, Imam Usman Yahaya who was also caught up in the attack, condemned the action of the hoodlums. He said he was in support of the clean-up to clear the area of criminality.
He pledged to support the Taskforce in fishing out all criminal elements and those who jeopardize the government’s developmental efforts.
