NGO launches platform to address demolition, eviction crisis

HipCity Innovation Centre has launched a web-based platform aimed at tracking and reporting housing demolition and forceful eviction across the country, with a special focus on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Daily Trust reports that the initiative is in response to the growing crisis of demolitions and evictions, particularly in urban poor communities. Briefing newsmen […]

HipCity Innovation Centre has launched a web-based platform aimed at tracking and reporting housing demolition and forceful eviction across the country, with a special focus on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Daily Trust reports that the initiative is in response to the growing crisis of demolitions and evictions, particularly in urban poor communities.

Briefing newsmen Tuesday in Abuja on the sidelines of the event, Bassey Bassey, Executive Director of HipCity Innovation center, said in 2024 alone, the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) carried out demolitions in areas such as Airport Road, Gwarinpa, and Garki, displacing hundreds of families.

Bassey said similar actions have been observed in some parts of Lagos, where urban-poor settlements have been cleared, leaving many residents homeless.

According to him, the launch of the tracker would help create a better understanding of what demolition is all about,

He said: “The web reporting and tracker is to help us understand the motives behind demolition. The law is clear as to how eviction should happen, and what should happen before demolition.

“So, we want to track the trend and the motives behind evictions and demolitions in Abuja and across Nigeria. We believe that when this information is documented, it gives us an insight on how to engage the government, knowing fully well that housing is already in deficit in the country. We have a 20 million housing deficit in Nigeria and for every house that we demolish, for every committee that we evict, it means that we’re sending more Nigerians into homelessness, into displacement and into destitution, because we know that when anyone loses a home, every other thing is destabilized.

“You will not have access to your place of work because you have been dislocated. Your business is disrupted; your children will be out of school. So there are a lot of reasons.”