Taskforce Clears Criminal Hideouts In Asaba, Demolishes Unauthorized Shops

The Delta State Government today intensified its clampdown on illegal structures in Asaba with the demolition of makeshift shops, caravans, and other unauthorized buildings suspected to be hideouts for criminals. The exercise was a joint operation carried out by marshals of the State Taskforce on Environment and the Asaba Capital Territory Development Agency, following rising security concerns within the state capital. Investigations revealed that while the shops posed as small-scale businesses in the day, they served as relaxation spots and surveillance points for hoodlums at night, enabling them to monitor and target residential areas for robberies.

Chairman of the Taskforce, Chief Godspower Asiuwhu JP, who personally supervised the demolition, disclosed that the operation became necessary after several complaints from residents and security reports confirmed the illegal structures were linked to criminal activities. He noted that CCTV footage obtained from some neighborhoods revealed that suspected robbers gathered around the shops before breaking into homes at night. According to him, the government had served eviction and demolition notices for over three months, giving the operators enough time to vacate the sites, but most ignored the directives.

The areas cleared in today’s operation include a fenced land with makeshift stalls off Cenotaph Road, car wash shops located directly in front of the Urban Water Board office along Okpanam Road, illegal shops erected on OVO Osiruemu Drive behind the Asaba Housing Estate, and another cluster of unauthorized stalls around Chris Igbenigu Street. Residents in the affected areas have long raised concerns that the sites were not only distorting the capital territory’s master plan but also creating security loopholes that endangered lives and property.

Chief Asiuwhu maintained that the state government would sustain the demolition exercise as part of efforts to secure the capital territory and enforce compliance with environmental and urban planning laws. He further warned that more illegal structures across Asaba and other urban centers in Delta would be brought down, stressing that government would not relent in ensuring safety and restoring order. He urged residents to cooperate fully and avoid contravening regulations, insisting that no individual interest would be allowed to override the collective security and development of the state.