“As you can see, the erected structures are illegal. We have been here on three different occasions, warning them to remove them but they refused. It is a new dawn in the state; scavengers and hoodlums will no longer be tolerated in the Lokoja metropolis and its environs.

“The illegal structures are harbouring hoodlums and criminals, hence the need to take this decisive action by the state government. They are a threat to the peace and security of Lokoja metropolis, its environs and the state at large, ” Joseph said.

He added: “If we allow these kinds of illegal structures in Lokoja, the rate of insecurity will increase. We will demolish them anywhere we find them.”

The commissioner and his team also evacuated all illegal occupants under the newly constructed Ganaja flyover bridge in Lokoja.

He further warned hoodlums and scavengers against loitering around or under the bridge, stressing that defaulters would be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.

According to him, prohibited activities under the Ganaja flyover include trading, loitering, resting, loitering, parking of vehicles and dumping of refuse.

Abdullahi Yusuf, the Acting General Manager of Kogi State Town Planning and Development Board, who also spoke during the exercise, said the occupants of the shanties had been served quit notice on several occasions but remained adamant.

“We have marked and served them notice severally but they have refused to move, so I am happy that the commissioner is matching his words with action. The illegal structures were erected in the heart of the town within a 16-kilometre radius and should not be allowed to remain there.

“This will serve as a deterrent to other defaulters, and the action will continue because we are not going to condone any act of illegality in the state. The green belts in Lokoja have also been occupied illegally and we will go after them to remove them and pull down the illegal structures,” he said.