Coalition Urges Wike To Stop Forceful Demolitions, Respect Citizens’ Rights

A coalition of indigenous groups and residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has appealed to the FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, to stop the forceful demolition of properties in the new year.

The group said that public interest projects must not come at the cost of citizens’ fundamental rights to shelter and dignity.

The coalition, representing both natives and non-natives who have built lives in the nation’s capital, decried the recent spate of demolitions and described it as inhumane and unconstitutional.

The Coordinator of the Forum, Elder Danjuma Tanko Dara, who addressed a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, said demolition of properties in Abuja must follow due process, and with strict adherence to the laws governing land acquisition and compensation.

“The New Year must bring a new way of operating. We call on the Honourable Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, to immediately halt the use of brute force to demolish houses belonging to natives and non-natives residing in the FCT.

“Even where the administration intends to execute a public interest project, the necessary compensation and resettlement must be conclusively done before any bulldozer is moved to the site.

“Our people are rendered homeless overnight; their lifetimes of investment are destroyed in minutes. This is being done to Nigerians, in Nigeria’s capital, as if they are not citizens of this country.

“We are Nigerians too, and we deserve to be treated with the rights and respect the constitution guarantees every citizen,” the group said.

The group observed that the use of force to demolish properties and homes has increasingly brought tears to the eyes of Nigerians, also amounting to waste due to uncivilised approaches.

The coalition argued that the Land Use Act and the FCT Act make clear provisions for compensation and resettlement, provisions they claim are being blatantly ignored.