The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA, has pulled down over 600 illegal houses in Zamani village along the Airport Road, warning local chiefs against land allocation to people.
The Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to the minister of FCT, Attah Ikharo, who monitored the exercise, said the minister, Muhammad Musa Bello has been warning chiefs against sharp practices.
He said; “For me, I don’t think I can quantify the houses; there are Development Control workers who are taking note but I can say over 600 illegal structures were pulled down.
“The Minister has issued that warning times without number, they have gone against the urban and regional planning laws. They have violated the law. It costs the administration money, hours and manpower to clear them.
“We are not paying any compensation because they violated the law building illegal structures. We are not done with Zamani community, we have a city to protect. Someone came to offer bribe and the man spoke a language close to my own I refused, later the indigenous people came and claimed the house is theirs but I said no because someone already came to offer me bribe and I refused.
“They showed us some houses that were not their own.
“No chief has right to sell land. Even the ones Area Councils allocated always go back to FCDA for recertification.
All the Chiefs even denied selling lands, they said they never sold land. We met them about three weeks ago and said the land that were sold was by farmers and the people farming said the land they sold were their farmlands, but they turned their farmlands into houses that has no building plans.
“The Minister has warned severally that the locals should stop selling land and the non indigiens should also stop buying land from them. What most of them do not know is that the indigenes have rights and they are due for resettlement and compensation.”
Director, Development Control Department, Murkhtar Galadima, who was physically present to supervise the work warned his staff against taking any bribe from any person, that he will not hesitate to use the civil service rule.
Bamidele Taiwo, one of the victims said he bought his land from the Chief. “My house was affected and even now all my family are outside with all my luggage.
Bolaji Ganiyu, who is also a resident of Zamani and was affected by the demolition said, “I bought land from the Chief of Zamani for N100,000 and he didn’t tell us about indigenes or non indigenes. Now they removed our houses and all our properties are outside.
When the house was marked we went to meet the Chief and he told us to meet Chief of Jiwa and we went to meet him and we even went to Human Rights Radio for them to plead on our behalf to give us at least 6 months notice but they refused.”
On leaving the indigenous houses, “I am not happy that they didn’t demolish the indigenous houses, after all they sold the land to us and we are all Nigerians. Where I come from in Oyo State, whatever they do to indigenes that is what they will do to non indigenes. It was my friend who bought the land for N100,000. And they didn’t tell us that it was an illegal land. Some people bribed the indigenes, they left some houses.
We are fasting. At least in the spirit of Ramadan, they could have left it till after fasting. Now during election they will say we are one, which is a lie.”
