Lawrence Bajah
The FCT Ministerial Taskforce on Thursday raided Tora-Bora hills in Abuja, the nation’s capital city, overlooking the popular Apo Roundabout to dislodge suspected illicit drug lords and scavengers who have turned the area into a criminal’s den.
The team comprising of the Nigeria Police, National Drugs Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Military and paramilitary agencies including the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) stormed the place, chased after the suspects and destroyed makeshift structures providing cover for the illicit drugs peddling and other nefarious acts there.
It was observed that some suspected illicit drug lords on sighting the Taskforce officials took to their heels, abandoning packs of Indian Hemps and other dangerous substances on heaps of refuse found at the notorious topside of the city.
Part of the items recovered include big and small wraps of fresh and dried Indian hemps inside clusters of black nylons and papers, tablets and tubes of dangerous substances
Speaking to newsmen at the site, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah, said the exercise became imperative as it was gathered that the hitherto dislodged drug lords and scavengers were regrouping at the hills.
Attah disclosed that the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello directed them to work under the guidance of the Commissioner of Police for the FCT, CP Dr Sadiq Abubakar, who ensured that they revisited the place to dislodge the suspected criminals, as there no hiding place for their nefarious acts.
He revealed that what the combined security team discovered during the exercise included a full bag load of Indian hemps and other illicit substances being sold there by the drug lords.
Attah said: “You know the Minister had worked with several Police Commissioners on the issue. So we cleared the hill and removed the drug lords from the place. But, sometimes, when the Minister was passing through here, he saw that heaps of waste kept by suspected scavengers (Baba-bolas) are returning to the Tora-Bora hill we had cleared.
“Yes, they are returning, but we won’t allow that to happen here. And that is why we tell the illicit drug lords that they can’t come into the nation’s capital city to freely sell drugs.
“Tora-Bora hill is a beauty topside overlooking the popular Apo Roundabout, and we will not allow such nefarious acts to be there.”
On some proactive measures taken to tackle the menace at the hill, Minister Aide disclosed that the FCT Police Command has stationed a Police outpost there to be watching over and ensure that the drug lords don’t return, adding that NDLEA has also established their presence by having an outpost at the foot of the hill.
“So, with the combined effort of the security team of the Nigeria Police, NDLEA, Military and paramilitary agencies including the AEPB, we are very hopeful that those who deal on all hard drugs, who are certainly already out of business in FCT, will continue to be so”, he stressed.
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