Some residents of Court of Appeal Estate II in Kubwa, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja got the shock of their lives on Saturday as bulldozers from the Department of Development Control pulled down their buildings without notice. Those affected were living along railway corridors in the area.

An eye witness, Kingsley Ohen, who is a younger brother to one of the victims, said he received a distress call from his sister that their building was being pulled down.

“When I arrived at my sister’s house, I was shocked at what was going on in the area. I met her devastated and confused due to the suddenness of the demolition. As you can see, everybody is running around due to confusion caused by their sudden appearance,” Kingsley said.

Although he agreed that they were given until this August to vacate the area, no actual date was given and residents assumed that it would be the last day in August.

Mrs. Justina Acha, one of the victims, said, “I was cooking, when members of the development control arrived our estate with bulldozers and mobile policemen and announced to us that they are to pull down our buildings. We were confused and begged them to give us more time to vacate since we are still in August but they refused and started demolishing our houses,” she said.

When asked if they were properly notified of the demolition date and compensated, Mrs. Acha said they paid N5.5 million to owners of 2-bedroom flats and N6 million to owners of 3-bedroom flats. She claimed, however, that they were underpaid as that amount was not enough for such houses anywhere within Kubwa.

Some other victims where unable to speak with Nigerian Telegraph as they were all busy salvaging what they could of their property before the buildings were finally pulled down.

When contacted, officials of the Development Control carrying out the demolition exercise said that the demolition commenced yesterday afternoon but declined further comments. They referred Nigerian Telegraph to their office for more comments on the matter.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nathaniel Temije, an assistant director, Monitoring and Enforcement said, on Friday, that all buildings on the railway corridors would be removed to pave way for ongoing construction of rail lines in the territory...

Shobayo Emma: we should all be ready for developmental sacrifice if truely we want this great nation to move forwad

malc619: Ok..

I hope the Bigots also come online to tell us how GEJ hates the poor...

Bunch of foolish hypocrites...

taharqa: Unlike d DESPICABLE way d Lagos State Govt went about its own demolitions (where d Poor were chased away from their demolished home, and the space given to Rich friends of d Govt to build luxury houses with d Money Fashola borrowed from d World Bank after 'Lying' that he wud used it to helping d very poor people his Govt chased away), GEJ paid bw 5.5-6million as Compensation to these set of Poor people BEFORE his Govt demolished their houses. Plus, d demolished space wud be used for the laying of tracks of d Standard Rail Guage GEJ is presently constructing in Abuja and Environs. See the Difference?? If not, I wud hv joined in condemning it, as d apparent 'war' been waged on Poor people by various Govts in Nigeria (FG, State, LG) by demolishing Houses, markets, businesscentres, stopping Bikes and Kekes etc, without adequate Compensation or thought HAVE TO STOP

taharqa: Unlike d DESPICABLE way d Lagos State Govt went about its own demolitions (where d Poor were chased away from their demolished home, and the space given to Rich friends of d Govt to build luxury houses with d Money Fashola borrowed from d World Bank after 'Lying' that he wud used it to helping d very poor people his Govt chased away, GEJ paid bw 5.5-6million as Compensation to these set of Poor people BEFORE his Govt demolished their houses. Plus, d demolished space wud be used for the laying of tracks of d Standard Rail Guage GEJ is presently constructing in Abuja and Environs. See the Difference?? If not, I wud hv joined in condemning it, as d apparent 'war' been waged on Poor people by various Govts in Nigeria (FG, State, LG) by demolishing Houses, markets, businesscentres, stopping Bikes and Kekes etc, without adequate Compensation or thought HAVE TO STOP

Tony Spike:

Is this a joke or what? 6 million as compensation for a demolishing building in Abuja? What can 6 million do at an expensive city like Abuja? This is gross fraud and cheating...

By the way, I personally know of someone who was repaid at least 30 million by LASG for his demolished building. LASG repays you handsomely provided you have valid documents with respect your property.

Tony Spike:

Is this a joke or what? 6 million as compensation for demolishing a building in Abuja? What can 6 million do at an expensive city like Abuja? This is gross fraud and cheating...

By the way, I personally know of someone who was repaid at least 30 million by LASG for his demolished building. LASG repays you handsomely provided you have valid documents with respect to your property.

malc619:

Show me where GEJ did the bolded, till then you're a LIAR.... Just like the retardeen..

When asked if they were properly
notified of the demolition date and
compensated, Mrs. Acha said they
paid N5.5 million to owners of 2-
bedroom flats and N6 million to
owners of 3-bedroom flats.

taharqa: Unlike d DESPICABLE way d Lagos State Govt went about its own demolitions (where d Poor were chased away from their demolished home, and the space given to Rich friends of d Govt to build luxury houses with d Money Fashola borrowed from d World Bank after 'Lying' that he wud used it to helping d very poor people his Govt chased away), GEJ paid bw 5.5-6million as Compensation to these set of Poor people BEFORE his Govt demolished their houses. Plus, d demolished space wud be used for the laying of tracks of d Standard Rail Guage GEJ is presently constructing in Abuja and Environs. See the Difference?? If not, I wud hv joined in condemning it, as d apparent 'war' been waged on Poor people by various Govts in Nigeria (FG, State, LG) by demolishing Houses, markets, businesscentres, stopping Bikes and Kekes etc, without adequate Compensation or thought HAVE TO STOP

taharqa: 5.5-6million Compensation for a 2- and 3-bedroom Flat in a relatively modest environment and on Land that is on a Railway's Right of Way, is Fair enough I think. Maybe not adequate, but Fair overall.... The thousands of VERY POOR persons Fashola drove recently in DIDNT RECEIVE ANY COMPENSATION whatsoever even if they were d very reason Fashola took money from d World Bank (at least, that was what he told d Bank) in d 1st place- according to Amnesty International. It was AFTER, chasing them and making them homeless that his Commissioner (almost as an afterthought) said the State Govt was PLANNING to start building 1000 or so houses for them, as though they wud leave on air b4 then; and to make it worse, this is whilst d construction of Luxury houses for d Rich with d same money Fashola told d World Bank he was going to used to help d poor people he has made homes, is already underway!!.... By d way, maybe you are right that d LASG gave a 30million Compensation to a victim of a demolished house. Maybe. But if right, it wud be not much of a surprise: that 'victim' must have bn Rich and in a Relatively well to do area; and you know d problem has never bn LASG's attitude to d Rich BUT he Disregard (even, Disdain some wud say) to d Poor

AEPB arrests 144 beggars, destitute persons

⁠January 9, 2013 ⁠ ⁠Editor⁠ ⁠Metro⁠ ⁠No comments

The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) arrested 144 beggars and other destitute persons in the city centre within the last three weeks, an official said. The Head of Information and Outreach Programme, AEPB, Mr Joe Ukairo, told newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday that the board made the arrests during a “massive operation’’. Ukairo said the board had adopted stricter and sustainable measures of evacuating beggars from the streets.

“We discovered that they still come to the street after evacuation but this time around we are taking more stringent measures to make sure they don’t come back. “What these beggars do is when they see our vehicle coming they run away but now there are undercover approaches adopted by the board to tackle this problem,’’ he said. Ukairo said that the board would, henceforth, take pictures and personal data of all beggars arrested before returning them to their states of origin. He said the step would enable the board to know those who returned to the street. The official said that after returning the beggars home, AEPB would contact their various state and local governments to be part of their rehabilitation.  Ukairo said that without proper rehabilitation, it would be very difficult to permanently get the beggars off the streets of Abuja.

He said any beggar who wished to stay back in the FCT would be taken to the rehabilitation centre in Bwari Area Council to learn a trade, such as carpentry, handicraft, tailoring, soap making, among others.

“We discovered that the street tends to be more lucrative for the beggars than the government efforts to rehabilitate them and provide vocational training,” he said. Commenting on the reappearance of hawkers in Wuse Market, Ukairo said the board would not tolerate their activities in the city centre. He said that the AEPB noticed that miscreants hid under the cover of hawkers and traders to snatch bags and other valuables from residents at night. Ukairo said the board had given 72 hours notice to hawkers to evacuate Wuse Market and environs and stressed that `there is no amount of sentiment that will legalise illegality. “Government is ready to support small scale businesses but it must be within the provision of the law.‘’ He advised that the hawkers go to the area councils to start their businesses. He called on residents to respect the board’s enforcement squad and report any form of unethical behaviour from them. (NAN)

Another phase of demolition in Abuja

⁠May 21, 2013 ⁠ ⁠Awaal Gaata⁠ ⁠Metro⁠ ⁠No comments

Few days ago, houses were demolished at Dutse Sokale, Dutse Pi, Dutse Makaranta and Dutse Alhaji of Bwari Area council, and the residents, who were mostly indigenes, were decrying that it was done injudiciously.

Some told Blueprint that their houses were demolished in order to collect their lands to give for politicians.

Blueprint

learnt that houses in the said areas were marked for demolition by Abuja Development Control (ADC) because they were located on existing layouts, thereby notifying them to leave the lands, and the occupants, being indigenes, had nowhere to go.

In fact, two days after the demolition, Blueprint reporter still saw some of them around the rubbles because they had nowhere to go.

The decision of by ADC, according to the people, was “a forceful eviction in this era where rights of the common man should be protected instead of being grossly violated.”

They, however, hinted that politicians whose interests were to evict them and take over their land were the brain behind the recent demolition notice, affirming that they have been attracted to the area due to the beautiful topography of the community.

Speaking with some residents at Dutse Alhaji, Blueprint was told that the people have been living on their land all their lives, even before the creation of the FCT, and they doubt if there is an existing layouts as claimed by the ADC.

A resident, Mr. Shamaki Buhari, said “there is no any layout.. politicians just need our lands, and they are using the government to do so. They have decided to frustrate us, but we will tell them that before they moved into the FCT, we were here. It is unfair to just wake up one day and decide to send inhabitants of a place out of their land Where do you want them to go to? On the hill or where? This is something that shouldn’t happen anywhere in the world. If the government is claiming that there is an existing layout, let them tell us how much was paid to the inhabitants for resettlement. History will judge all those responsible for this call. “

Another resident, Mr. Karimu said “You can’t kill a man because he has got a long neck. We are fortunate to have settled here before the creation of FCT. We cannot move one inch further than here. We have our rights protected in the land Use Act like every other Nigerian, and the best anyone can do for us now is to let peace reign and avoid any kind of frivolous attempt of marking and demolition of houses here, as we will resist any of such attempt.”

Also speaking, a resident Engr. Ibrahim Gwazo said “most people who reside here are civil servants who work for the government as well as local farmers. People here also have existing businesses they are doing, schools have been built, hospitals have been established to take care of residents, markets have been developed, and the people have been living peacefully. Most of the residents here are indigenes. One wonders what is happening.

How do you displace over 1 million people? What is wrong with this country? We are law-abiding citizens of this great country. We have been so supportive to the government of the day. We have never failed to exercise our franchise rights. We wonder why the same government we voted will wake up one day to displace us of all we have built for years. We doubt this is coming from the government; some people are really after us, and definitely not the government.

Speaking with the Sokale Chief, he said “You see, we all know the number of layouts that have been made out of Dutse. Everybody knows that. We were all witnesses to the case of Dutse Sagawari Layout. We know that there was litigation over the land, which was finally resolved, and compensations were paid to the affected communities.

How come, we have a development of this nature coming up after several years? This is unfair and unjust. We will resist any of such move. We are human beings. I want to advise the government to call the Development Control people to order as their move, if implemented would be responsible for several deaths as many of us will die out of frustration. We have been here even before FCT was created, and we have been law abiding. “However, there was the same type of demolition in Gwagwalada last week. Unlike in Bwari where houses billed for demolition were marked before the day of the demolition, that was not the case in Gwagwalada, the victims said.

Mallam Aminu, whose shop was located opposite the Mini Campus of University of Abuja, told our correspondent that “Nobody marked my shop for demolition. A bulldozer just came to my shop, escorted by mobile police men and soldier, and started demolishing my shop. They didn’t allow me to take anything.”

Development control demolishes structures at Area 1

Temporary structures erected at Area 1 shopping centre were yesterday pulled down by the development control unit of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Agency.

The shades were said to have been built and allocated to the traders by the Abuja Market Management Limited (AMML), after their shops were initially pulled down by the agency.
A trader, Ibrahim Dalliti, said he spent close to N60,000 to prepare the place, which was pulled down yesterday morning.
 “I don’t know what these people want us to do, they are destroying our means of livelihood. Where do they want us to go,” he lamented.
Another trader, Habibu Sani, said over 80 stalls were demolished during the exercise and that it affected many traders at the shopping centre.
“These stalls were allocated after we filled application forms and paid N15,000 and other fees apart from the money we spent on refurbishing the structures,” he said.
An officer of the development control unit, who craved anonymity, denied any knowledge of the demolition in the area.
Further inquiries at the scene of the demolition, revealed that the traders were not aware of the development prior to the exercise.
Traders were seen trying to salvage what was left of their structures after the exercise despite the heavy rainfall at the time of the demolition.

Policemen shoot sales girl dead while demolishing illegal structures in Abuja

Tragedy struck at Apo area of Abuja on Friday when a stray bullet from the Nigerian Police killed a 20-year old sales girl, Miss Lucy.

Miss Lucy who was shot dead by some policemen in the Apo area of Abuja, was until her death a sales girl in a photography studio in Apo.

It was reported that bullets from the sporadic shooting by the police hit the girl on her chest and left her dead, while three others sustained various degrees of gunshot injuries.

The sad incident resulted from the resistance of Apo residents over the invasion of their homes and shops by the the FCT police command with the intention to compel them to yield to the ongoing demolition exercise by the FCT .

The policemen who came into Apo area around 7 am alongside officials of Development Control Department in charge of illegal structures were resisted by the residents who said the FCT had no right to demolish their houses when the case against the FCT has not yet been decided by the court.

It was in their resistance that the police started shooting indiscriminately and a stray bullet got into the shop and hit Lucy on the chest. She was rushed to Garki Hospital but was confirmed dead on arrival. Her body has since been deposited in the mortuary.

Relatively, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Wilson Inalegwu who met the honourable member representing AMAC/Bwari constituency of the FCT, Zephaniah Jisalo, at the hospital when he visited had promised the lawmaker that investigation into the matter has commenced already.

He said “We are not sure what took our men there or what led to the shooting, it’s still a matter for investigation,” he said.

The photo shop owner where the late Lucy worked , Mr. Emeka Ani, said that his sales boy also sustained bullet injuries . He said, “From morning, the police surrounded our area. They said they came for demolition. All of a sudden, they started shooting sporadically. They shot into my shop and killed my sales girl. My boy also sustained injuries. Lucy has been with me for about one month. Her sister brought her for me from Cross River.”

asha 80: is it Fashola(or GEJ) that demolishes building or the relevant ministry?

taharqa: Unlike d DESPICABLE way d Lagos State Govt went about its own demolitions (where d Poor were chased away from their demolished home, and the space given to Rich friends of d Govt to build luxury houses with d Money Fashola borrowed from d World Bank after 'Lying' that he wud used it to helping d very poor people his Govt chased away), GEJ paid bw 5.5-6million as Compensation to these set of Poor people BEFORE his Govt demolished their houses. Plus, d demolished space wud be used for the laying of tracks of d Standard Rail Guage GEJ is presently constructing in Abuja and Environs. See the Difference?? If not, I wud hv joined in condemning it, as d apparent 'war' been waged on Poor people by various Govts in Nigeria (FG, State, LG) by demolishing Houses, markets, businesscentres, stopping Bikes and Kekes etc, without adequate Compensation or thought HAVE TO STOP

Garri the 1st:

^^
The fool below needs to read the thrash above.....

Boyano: They were given till August and Nigerians r waiting till end of August, the Govt is fair enough na August is August why are they confused?

Boyano: They were given till August and Nigerians r waiting till end of August, the Govt is fair enough na August is August why are they confused?