AEPB Dislodges Illegal Market In Lugbe, Discover Dangerous Weapons

The Abuja Environmental protection Board (AEPB) has dislodged an illegal market in Lugbe, a suburb of the FCT and discovered dangerous weapons during the operation.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the weapons were found in one of the shanties demolished during the raid.

These weapons included a sharp knife, a long cutlass, a bow and arrows and a sickle. Alhaji Isa Shuaibu, the Director of the board said that the operation was aimed at ensur cleanliness of the capital city.
Shuaibu said that the board had, on several occasions, warned against trading in the area, but traders refused to heed their warnings.
He also urged residents living along airport road to maintain the 200 metres distance between residential buildings and the federal highway.
He said the buffer zone was reserved to the advantage of the residents.
``We must maintain the 200 metres distance between the buildings and the road. This is a buffer zone and it must be maintained.
``This buffer zone is even reserved to your own advantage because it creates space for your children to play and grow very well.
``It is a disgrace that people living in the city will still constitute nuisance.’’
``If you can obey our instructions and keep your environment clean, we will stop bordering you.''
The director, who handed over the recovered weapons to the police, urged security agencies to collaborate with the board to achieve the enormous task of a safe and healthy capital city.
Shuaibu also asked auto mechanics operating on the buffer zones to leave as they were operating in an unauthorised place.
``Mechanics operating around the buffer zones should quit, because their operations are illegal.''
NAN reports that a detachment of the Nigerian army accompanied the AEPB to enforce the dislodgment of the market.
Staff from the Development Control Department of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) were also involved in the operation.
Items found within and outside the market premises, including scrapped vehicles were set ablaze after the owners could not come to move them out of the premises.
Mr Ifeanyi Njoku, a driver with Pan African Equipment, who spoke to newsmen, expressed satisfaction with the operation.
Njoku urged the board to sustain the enforcement and ensure that violators of environmental laws were punished.
``Most of this people do not respect the law, you cannot imagine that people sell and they will not clean the waste they generate.
``I will advise that there should be night shift by the AEPB to ensure that this place is constantly kept under watchMrs Asabe Ishiaku, a food vendor who spoke to NAN, said the operation had brought sanity to Lugbe.
Ishiaku, however, said that traders would have been given more time to vacate.
Ishiaku also appealed to the FCTA to make provision for smaller markets in the FCT.