Suleja Barrack residents are illegal tenants – Niger govt

The Niger State government yesterday said the demolition of the old Suleja Military barrack was carried out because the occupants of the facility and land were illegal tenants.

Our correspondent learnt that the disputed land was donated to the military authority in the 1970s by the state government for temporary use as barracks for soldiers.

The military authority formerly handed over back the affected facility to the state government through an agreement signed by both parties in 2014.

Commissioner of information, Mr. Jonathan Vatsa told newsmen at the venue of the demolished site yesterday that the state government had also gone ahead to pay certain amount as compensation through the military authority for those affected by the exercise shortly after the official handover of the facility.

He also said enough notices were given to the occupants to quit, adding that some hoodlums destroyed machines meant for a demolition exercise when the state government attempted to clear the site after the transfer formalities.

“As far as we are concerned, those you see there are illegal tenants because the issue of who owned the land was settled a long time ago between the state government and the military and that is why the military is involved in this exercise. Who are the so called tenants paying rent to,” he queried.

However most of those affected by the exercise claimed there was no notice before the exercise, even as some claimed they were born there and had nowhere to go.

“I was born there,” Timothy Suleiman told our correspondent, pointing at the location where his house was. However when asked where his retired soldier father was, he said the parent had moved to Kaduna State.