Kpaduma residents protest FCDA attempt to demolish houses
Some Kpaduma residents have faulted the authorities for marking their houses for demolition despite a subsisting court order. Over 100 houses have been marked for demolition in the urban slum behind Asokoro District by officials of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA). The residents said should the government carry out the demolition exercise, it would […]
Some Kpaduma residents have faulted the authorities for marking their houses for demolition despite a subsisting court order.
Over 100 houses have been marked for demolition in the urban slum behind Asokoro District by officials of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).
The residents said should the government carry out the demolition exercise, it would be contravening a court injunction preventing their structures from being tampered with by anyone, pending the determination of the case before it.
The community’s secretary, Simon Baba, appealed to the FCT Minister, Muhammad Musa Bello, to call the officials to order and allow the case to be decided by the court. “If not that we are peaceful and law-abiding people, there would have been a serious crisis in the community because this is a threat to the lives of our people.
“They came to our community at about 11am on Tuesday, November 19 to mark houses for demolition without notice. It is a complete violation of the rule of law. The case between our community and the FCDA is still in court and the court gave us an interlocutory injunction that prevents FCDA and its agents from entering our community.
“When I confronted them on the marking of our houses, they told me that the order was from above. When I tried stopping them from marking our houses, one of them dragged my shirt and threw me down, asking me who I was to stop them from marking the houses. So, I stepped side helplessly.
A chief in Kpaduma II, Nasa Sunday, said the government had taken a decision that would render the people homeless without plan to resettle them.
“The FCT minister should take proper measure to nip this issue in the bud, before this gets out of hand,” he said.