The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has warned religious organizations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to desist from indiscriminate placing of unapproved posters in parts of the territory or face the full wrath of the law.
In an interview yesterday, the director, Department of Outdoor Advertising and Signage (DOAS), Ibrahim Yusuf, noted that indiscriminate placing of posters by religious bodies in FCT has contributed in defacing the city.
“Before now we have the challenge of indiscriminate placing of posters by political parties, especially during the campaigns, but now what we are seeing are indiscriminate placing of posters by religious groups in the city.
As a step forward, instead of us to remove them, we went to the various religious groups and served them abatement notices that they should remove those posters within 72 hours or face the legal action,” he said.
Yusuf disclosed that the abatement notices were served to over 20 religious bodies in FCT to remove their posters within 72 hours or face the relevant legal actions, as contained in the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) act.
He explained that the act prescribes N5, 000 fines for individuals and N50, 000 fines for corporate bodies or six months imprisonment or both, on conviction for placing unauthorized posters in public places within the territory.
The director revealed that the department has gone as far as reaching out to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), as well as representatives of Pentecostal churches in FCT to help inform their members to stop indiscriminate placing of posters on Abuja streets.
He advises religious groups to make use of available public notice boards in parts of the city to publicize their activities, in line with global best practices.
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