In order to maintain the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Master Plan, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), through the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), has over the years demolished ‘illegal’ buildings across the territory. Expectedly, this has not gone down well with residents, especially the victims. PAUL OKAH reports.
“Abuja is not meant for the poor” is the attributed slogan of wealthy residents of the FCT. However, with a few struggling to survive amid the poverty ravishing the land, one would expect the FCTA to show empathy, but the reverse appears to be the case as FCTA has been jack-booting downtrodden residents.
Ranging from residential buildings, hotels, shops, business areas to worship centres in Lokogoma, Mpape, Jabi, Gwarinpa, Utako, Lugbe, Kubwa and other parts of Abuja, the FCTA has rendered many residents homeless, jobless and hopeless as a result of the demolition of structures that hitherto provided shelters and jobs.
Also, in a country regarded as the poverty capital of the world, one would have expected the FCTA to be humane enough to allow occupants of many demolished buildings to stay and eke out a living, but the victims are often not compensated, with the FCTA saying that such demolished buildings were illegal anyway.
850 shanties demolished
On December 12, 2019, FCTA marked over 800 houses for demolition in Gwarimpa, including worship places, some of which they said also served as residential buildings and shanties on the about three kilometres stretch of the road from Third Avenue to First Avenue in Gwarimpa.
The demolition exercise took place beside the Gwarimpa office of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) on Pa Michael Imoudu Avenue, Third Avenue. It ended at the Holy Cross Catholic Church, on First Avenue, with over 1,000 residents affected by the exercise.
On December 16, 2019, “to ensure strict compliance with the Abuja Master Plan and permanently tackle traffic situation within Gwarinpa,” the FCTA said it would remove no fewer than 850 makeshift shops/houses (popularly called batchers) and shanties along the N16 road.
While marking of the affected shanties in Gwarinpa, Director, Department of Development Control, Malam Muktar Galadima, said the road is an arterial highway that stretches from 3rd Avenue in Gwarinpa through Gishiri village to NICON Junction, which, when constructed, would free up traffic from other roads in and out of the sprawling Gwarinpa district.
“There are encroachments on that arterial road and we have directive from the honourable minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, to remove them; so we need to nip them in the bud before they turn into what people will begin to claim right of ownership for,” he said.
The deputy director, monitoring and enforcement in the department, Tpl. Garba T. Kwamkur, who was part of the exercise, said the department was giving marching orders to rid the Territory of illegalities, adding that it was doing everything possible to keep Abuja in line with international best standards.
Kwamkur also said after clearing the shanties, the road surface would be leveled to enable people use it on a temporary basis even before award of contract for its construction, even as he revealed that the shanty removal exercise was a continuous one, which would be extended to other areas including Apo, Gudu, and Kubwa.
Orphanage not spared
Earlier, on March 26, 2019, an orphanage and rehabilitation home, Divine Wounds of Jesus Christ, situated near Liberty Hotels, Arab Road, Kubwa, Abuja, was not spared as the Department of Development Control in the FCT unleashed bulldozers on the property.
By the time the bulldozers went off, at least 130 orphans were left homeless.
Personal effects of the inmates, utensils and sundry belongings of the orphanage and its school were strewn across the entire plot of land, which hitherto housed the facility, while the orphans and their teachers clustered under trees writing their terminal examination.
Jointly established by Mr. Cyril Ezemoka, and his wife, Victoria, as part of their contribution to the wellbeing of the society, the orphanage, which also serves as a school started operations in 2009, and was formally launched in 2011, with staff strength of 50 workers, who ran two shifts weekly.
After the death of her husband in 2014, the management of the home fell squarely on Mrs. Victoria Ezemoka who serves as the founding mother/ proprietress.
Trouble started a few years ago when the younger brother to the deceased allegedly showed up and informed the widow that his late brother had officially transferred the property to him.
An assistant to the director of the Home, Mr. Victor Godwin, said, “It was disheartening that the FCDA demolished this property without any prior notice. It is unheard of that government no longer abides by the Constitution because if it does, it ought to know that this matter is already before the courts. So, why has the government taken laws into its hands?”
Commenting on the development, the acting secretary, Social Development Secretariat of the FCDA, Hajiya Safiya Umar, said the Social Welfare Department of the FCDA will keep the orphans in its custody pending when issues would be resolved.
“My department is solely responsible for the welfare of orphanage homes in the FCT, and we make sure the rights of the children are not abused. On getting to hear about this case, the minister (of FCT) directed that we should prepare a place for them hence we are here to take them to FCT Unity Children Home in Gwako, Gwagwalada. This is the temporary place where we want to accommodate them for a while,” she said.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Abuja on March 28, 2019, the director, FCT Department of Development Control, Muktar Galadima, said the structure was demolished for not complying with regulations, and for disregarding several stop work and other notices served on it, which also included a demand for the production of the title document for the land.
He said, “When we received this complaint of encroachment, we visited the site and served all the relevant notices beginning from stop work notice, quit notice to demolition notice in line with our responsibility of ensuring strict implementation of the Abuja Master Plan. But the proprietress did not submit any title document about the disputed property.
“If she had submitted, we would have put her title document together with that of the complainant and send it to the Department of Lands Administration to confirm, who the rightful owner of the land was, or is, because the facility sat on three plots of land. The issuing authority would thereafter write us formally confirming the real owner of the land.
“In the beginning, we had sympathy towards these children, and we are looking for a way to cushion their hardship by relocating them so that they do not feel that they are being rejected by the society. We want to provide succour for them by getting them a temporary accommodation, even if it is for one year, so that they would have a safe place to stay. This is because this government has a human face. We hope to do that as soon as possible.”
However, Mrs. Victoria Ezemoka in her response at the joint press conference took everyone by surprise when she produced another title document for the same property. According to her, her brother-in-law’s claim of ownership of the landed property was the beginning of trouble for her, and that was immediately her late husband passed on.
Caramelo demolition saga
Perhaps, the most controversial demolition by the FCTA is that of Caramelo lounge and suites in Utako, which allegedly rendered more than 100 staff jobless and loss of property worth over N500 million as early as 7am on May 13, 2019.
Although the perimetre fence was spared, a heap of excavated concrete, rising more than 10 feet, covered where the property sat for seven years as furniture, electronics and other household items were submerged in the concrete that formed the larger part of the debris.
The property was pulled down by earth-moving hardware two days after a demolition notice was delivered for workers and guests to vacate, though the club owners blamed the FCT minister, Bello Mohammed, for the demolition, describing it as “a vindictive measure” that did not consider the country’s flailing economy.
The city administration claimed Caramelo was built on a piece of land marked for a hospital or school by the town planning office, an arrangement that was breached for the seven years the club served as a prominent spot for fun-seekers and that neighbours had complained about heavy activities of Caramelo owners and guests.
N500m business destroyed, many rendered jobless
The club owner, Maxwell Eze, decried the manner with which his property was destroyed, describing himself as a law-abiding citizen and described the situation as entirely avoidable, revealing that at least 105 Nigerians were in direct employment at Caramelo, with the lowest paid not getting below the minimum wage.
He displayed the demolition notice to reporters, which said the building was illegally constructed and had constituted nuisance to residents.
“They just destroyed N500 million in a struggling economy. This is deliberate sabotage of this country’s economy. Now, not only the 105 people have been rendered jobless, our suppliers and other indirect labourers will have to find ways to earn a living for themselves and families,” Eze said.
Demolition too many
Demolitions are not uncommon across Abuja, as the government attempts to enforce a master plan that was first drafted when it was identified as a new capital in the mid-1970s. This often pits city administration officials against residents and business owners.
Hundreds of buildings were demolished when Nasir El-Rufai was the minister in the 2000s. As with Bello now, El-Rufai was accused of being vindictive. He denied the allegations. Some of the demolitions were later deemed inappropriate in court.
While Bello has not embarked on a full-scale demolition of unapproved buildings, he has signed off on a few demolitions that were deemed controversial. Last year, an orphanage housing more than 200 children was destroyed in Kubwa after a short notice, a development that earned the minister widespread ridicule on social media.
Jabi chief laments
In an interview with Blueprint Weekend, the Esu of Jabi 1, Alhaji Yakubu B. Auta, decried the demolition of part of his property on December 20, 2020, by FCTA, despite the administration not putting social amenities in place for their resettlement.
He said following the acquisition of part of the land belonging to the community by a high profile Nigerian, the FCTA made plans for the community to be resettled in Galuwyi-Shere community in Mpape, a satellite town in the FCT, but that the lack of basic amenities has prevented the community from moving.
He also said the recent buyer of the land had magnanimously bought another land for his family from one Mr. Ahmed Abubakar Isyaku at No. 519 Cadastral Zone 310, Dakibiu District, Jabi, for N40 millio and also gave N25 million to the Esu of Jabi 1; for the erection of 12 units of two-bedroom two-storey building for his family, with the deed of assignment dated February 17, 2017.
He, however, said they require about N100 million to complete the structure in the 2075.30 square-metre land being handled by MK Architects& Partners since February 16, 2018, if they are to relocate from their present abode.
Also, in a document obtained by Blueprint Weekend, dated September 2, 2019, which is a reply to a letter from the Office of Director of Resettlement and Compensation of FCTA dated August 28, 2019, titled “Ministerial Directive on the Immediate Resettlement of Jabi Yakubu Community to Galuwyi-Shere Resettlement Scheme,” the chief lamented their forced out of their land to a place where even animals are not fit to live in, especially in uncompleted buildings without social amenities.
The document read in part: “The forefathers of Esu Jabi 1, Alhaji Yakubu B. Auta, migrated from Garki in 1930 and settled in Jabi. In 1990, the present Esu of Jabi 1, Alhaji Yakubu B. Auta, was enthroned as the new Esu of Jabi 1, due to the old age of his father. Some years ago, the FCDA initiated a resettlement scheme which involved the indigenous inhabitant of Jabi 1. The inhabitants are not in contest of the government initiative, but some basic amenities ought to be put in place before the resettlement exercise will take place.
“Some of the promises made by government to put in place before resettlement have not been fulfilled till date. There is no good road, pipe borne water, electricity, schools, hospitals, church or mosque, no data on respective inhabitants for allocation of buildings, even the building designated as the palace of the Esu of Jabi 1 was built on a river and likely to be washed away with heavy rain.
“However, a meeting was called a few days ago wherein the FCDA were instructing the Esu of Jabi 1 and his community to vacate their present houses within the next 14 days from August 17, 2019. We urge the Honourable Minister to look into the injustice to be meted out on the inhabitants and indigenous of the community of Jabi 1 as we are not opposed to his directive.”
