ABUJA COMMUNITY DEMANDS JUSTICE AFTER GOVERNMENT DEMOLITION. (PHOTO).

 

Abuja Community Demands Justice After Government Demolition

After Government demolished over 200 homes in Nuwalege, a rural community along the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Road in Abuja, has left many families homeless and demanding compensation. The demolition, executed by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) at the request of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), was intended to make way for an extension of the Presidential Air Fleet. However, residents claim they were not given adequate notice or compensation. "They demolished our house in January. There was no information prior to the demolition," said Wisdom James, a displaced resident now living in Zamani. "They didn’t tell us when they would be coming. They didn’t pay us anything," he added.

Contrary to the residents' claims, Muktar Galadima, the Director of the FCT Department of Development Control, stated that a two-month notice was given before the demolition. "We informed the residents residing on the Nigeria Air Force land about the impending action and granted them a two-month window to pack their belongings," Galadima said in January. He also mentioned that discussions were ongoing with the Air Force and the FCT Department of Resettlement and Compensation to verify if any compensation had been paid, noting, "Some forms of compensation were paid. We are going to conduct further investigation to find out if compensation has been paid, to whom, and when."

Despite these assurances, many residents feel abandoned and are seeking legal recourse. Obadiah Tanko, an indigene of Nuwalege, lamented the loss of their ancestral lands, noting that the community had existed long before the Air Force base was established. "Some of our ancestors were buried in the site that now belongs to the NAF," Tanko said. Meanwhile, the community members contributed between N2,500 and N10,000 each to fund a legal challenge against the demolition, but they claim the money has not yielded any results. "The money we gathered, we don’t know where they took it to, and we weren’t paid back," James said, expressing frustration over the lack of transparency in their legal efforts.