As many Nigerians struggle with job losses, pay cuts and difficulty in doing business as a result of the impact of COVID-19, adding to these challenges, residents of Anguwan Shaho, a settlement in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), said they had been rendered homeless by the Development Control unit of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
Some of the victims of the demolition exercise shared their experiences with Daily Trust Saturday.
“I began to live here one week after a former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (retd) ‘stepped aside’ from office.
“The day they came for the demolition, I went out to find my daily bread. After few hours, I received a call from my neighbours to come and pack my little things in the house. I returned to discover that the only place I could call my home had been demolished.
Mallam Hassan Masa, one of the victims of the demolition exercise, said he found himself in a very difficult situation and actually had to be strong at heart to survive. He has lived in Anguwan Shaho for 27 years ago.
He explains further, that “now, the only place I lay my head at night is a part of the building that did not completely collapse while the demolition took place.
Whenever the cloud gathers to pour down rain, my heart is troubled because I would get drenched. Right now, we do not have a place to go to, but we believe that God would help us,’’ he said.
Another victim of the exercise, who did not want to speak to our reporter because he was grossly dejected, however, said, after much persuasion, “If they had issued me a letter that my building would be included for demolition, I would have prepared long before now.
On Thursday morning, they came to us without notice and started demolishing the hospital few houses away and moved to other houses, including mine.
“I cannot deny the fact that the FCTA issued a letter to people around me. In fact, those who were notified earlier (three months to one year) have already relocated, probably because owners of Ochacho Estate settled some property owners with some amounts of money, depending on the quality of the houses they built. I thought I was safe until now.
“In my distressed state, I had to get a truck to convey my wife and children to a place we can lay our heads for the time being.”
Also, Mr. Anointed Abu, who said he was a land owner in Anguwan Shaho, told our reporter that he received only a one-week notice before the demolition commenced.
He added that some parts of the community were actually marked for demolition while others were not. He further said he was told that seven hectares of land were mapped out for indigenes, from ECWA Church downwards.
“I bought this land over 15 years ago from the chief of Anguwan Shaho community. It is not easy to see your building demolished and bear it.
“I offered part of my yet to be demolished building to displaced tenants to seek refuge before they find a better place. The worst part of this situation for us now is that it is happening at the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic when people are managing to survive,’’ Mr. Abu lamented.
Speaking on behalf of Ochacho Estate, Joshua Ogbole, the secretary/legal adviser to Ochacho Real Homes, said his clients were developers. According to him, in the course of developing their property, they discovered that there were squatters on the land and subsequently reported the matter to the appropriate authority, which is the Development Control unit of the FCTA.
“That situation leaves us at a crossroad. The people who paid money to Ochacho Real Homes want access to their land so as to start developing.
“On the other hand, those squatting on the land also need shelter; hence the need to balance morality and legality.
“The Ochacho Foundation, known for assisting people across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and beyond, heard their cry and provided some level of succour to enable them pay rent or sort themselves out in other places.
“As a human being, whenever there is demolition, I empathise with the people,” Ogbole explained.
When contacted, the Director of Development Control, FCTA, Mukhtar Galadima said the legitimate owner of Anguwan Shaho had secured a building plan approval to commence work but wrote back, stating that squatters had occupied sections of the plot.
“We visited the site to affirm the assertion brought to us by the plot 35 owner. We had a meeting with the Hakimi in his palace to ascertain if the people on the site were squatters or indigenes. This is because a squatter is an illegal occupant of a land without a requisite title document and an approved building plan.
“We gathered that among the squatters were few indigenes. We processed the complaint within the department and received an official approval to remove the squatters from the site. Subsequently, we marked the illegal buildings,’’ Galadima said.
He urged residents of the FCT to desist from buying lands from traditional rulers, adding that only the Department of Land Administration has the approval of the minister to carry out legitimate allocation of lands.
Also speaking to our reporter on the matter, an assistant director and sector monitor in the Department of Development Control, Tom Edward, said they issued a quit notice to the occupants of the illegal structures on May 9, 2019, stating that such structures would be pulled down within 21 days.
“It is over a year today. While some have left the site, others are still there, even after several follow-up reminders. We went ahead to act based on approval. I advised that squatters on the land should vacate for the legitimate owner to take possession and commence the approved development,’’ he explained.
