Lugbe demolition: Residents, govt disagree over compensation, resettlement
The plan by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to demolish more than 750 “shanties” in Lugbe has led to tension in the community.
Some residents insist the structures are not shanties, and vowed not to move until the government compensate them.
However, Head of Development Control Department, Malam Muktar Galadima, said it had become imperative to “quickly” demolish the houses following a request from the Federal Ministry of Power for the FCTA to clear the area for the construction of a 330/132/33KV substation.
Some of the affected residents said the move came after the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had agreed to compensate them.
Some of the residents said they had signed an agreement with some officials from the TCN and are waiting for the cheques to be paid into their accounts.
One of the residents, Victor Onya, who has lived in the area for seven years, said though the land belonged to government; the government should be sensitive to the plight of the people considering the present economic situation by compensating for the structures.
Another resident, Simon Okuma, who has been living in the community for over six years; said he paid some money to a native of the FCT who in turn gave him the piece of the land on which he errected his building.
Okuma said some officials from TCN had earlier marked their houses for demolition but promised to compensate them before the exercise. He said his building was valued by the officials and that he was waiting to receive the compensation before he read in the newspapers that the government would demolish all the houses in the area.
“We are still waiting because we believe that the government cannot just treat us like that because we are human beings and we are citizens of this country. Government cannot just come and push us away from where we are living without adequate compensation.
“They agreed with us and we signed the form they brought for compensation on December 16, 2017. So, whatever they have agreed to pay us, even though it is not up to what we used in building our houses, they should give us so that we can find our way.
“I am married with two children and presently out of job since the company I was working with closed down. If they demolish my house without giving me the compensation, that means they want to kill me,” he said.
Azuka Humphrey, a businessman, said if government proceeded with the demolition, he would be stranded with his family, adding that water vending was the only business he relies on to provide for his family and dependents.
Mrs. Onyinye Eze said she was saddened that the houses people spent millions to build could be referred to as shanties.
“You can see for yourself, they just want to give a dog a bad name to hang it,” she said.
She said most of the residents lived in fear as the government could come with bulldozers any time, adding that she would be forced to return to her state should her building be demolished without compensation.
“We are living in fear because we are not even sure when they are coming and what they are coming for: whether for demolition or compensation. If they come for demolition, many of us will land in our villages because starting all over in this economic situation is not an easy thing,” she said.
For Mrs. Grace Obaje, the money scheduled to be paid was small considering their investment in the area and the current economic situation.
“Imagine someone that spent over N4m in building his house and what they want to compensate him with is not even up to N1m. Where do they want people to start from?” she queried.
She said government should either resettle the affected residents or compensate them.
The chief of the community, Muhammad Usman, said the residents would not fight the government should they decide to go ahead with the demolition without compensation, but that he would use advocacy and consultation to get justice.
He said the people were peace lovers and would not engage in any act of violence with government agencies.
He said before the recent intervention of the Development Control Authority, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had marked some houses for compensation and then demolition.
He said the buildings had been valued and owners had signed for the amounts they were valued, waiting to be paid the compensation before he heard on radio that government would demolish the buildings without compensation.
“All the people have signed the undertaking for the money they are to be paid, only for us to hear on radio that about 700 houses would be demolished,” he said.
He further said the residents were shocked and disheartened about the activities of government, adding that no warning was given and no houses were marked for demolition by development control officials.
“I will not fight with government. We will follow the law and talk on radio so that everybody will hear us,” he said.
He said more than 1, 000 people could be rendered homeless and their means of livelihood destroyed should the government go ahead with the demolition.
The Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Shuaibu Umar, said the residents could only be compensated if they had titled documents of the land they occupied.
He said by law they were aware of the original indigenes of the area when the FCT was created, adding that the land was meant for national development.
“If they don’t have titled documents, then there is nothing we can do. We will only attend to those with titled documents because they are there without permission from FCTA and if we leave them there, the danger is that so many lives will be lost if anything goes wrong with this facility. The facility is for public interest,” he said.
Also, Head of Development Control Department, Malam Muktar Galadima, said officials from his office had on several occasions warned the residents, adding that it had become imperative to “quickly” carry out the demolition due to a request from the Federal Ministry of Power to it to commence construction of a 330/132/33KV substation.
Galadima said the substation was one of the major projects slated for the FCT as listed by the Federal Government as part of capital projects to be executed in 2018.