FCTA Demolishes Residential Buildings On Flood-prone Areas

Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has demolished multiple residential buildings built on the flood plain at CRD Estate in the Lugbe district of Abuja.

The senior special assistant to the FCT minister on monitoring, inspection and enforcement, Ikharo Attah, during the exercise said that when the director of the FCT Department of Development Control, Muktar Galadima raised the alarm over the activities of land grabbers in Lugbe, they never understood the gravity of the activities of land grabbers in the area.

Attah said that they still did not know how far they have gone, but that a whole community in Lugbe has cried out that land meant for Nigeria Police, Fire service, Post office, and town hall, has all been taken over by a single individual who fenced and partitioned them for sale.

“A few days ago we went to Durumi to reclaim a land that belongs to Nigeria Police in a place called Monkey village, now I think the land grabbers are going into dangerous terrain targeting government-owned facilities, which I know the FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Bello, will not accept,” he said.

While speaking on FCDA staff being indicted by the land grabbers, he said they cannot blame the FCT staff, because they are the ones removing the contraventions in collaboration with other relevant agencies of the government.

“The police whose land is the current target will not lie low. All police land will be reclaimed. Land grabbers should stay away from land that is not theirs, because the owners may be government or individuals, or it may be a flood plain, or it can belong to the police or post office. They should leave land meant for public agencies,” he stressed.

Earlier, some residents of Lugbe had lamented the rate at which land grabbers are invading and developing structures on land meant for public use in the area, adding that land meant for a town hall, Nigeria Police, Fire Service, and post office, has been invaded by land grabbers.

One of the residents, Moses Udoh said, “In this same place we have land that is meant for public infrastructure, that belongs to the government, that has been fenced by an individual and is ready to sell off this land and they come with FCT approvals and their personnel so the same personnel are selling those lands meant for public infrastructure to private individuals. If there must be justice, it must be fair.”

Also, another resident of the area, Ms Muina appealed to FCTA, that apart from demolishing structures, they should create an access road because the major access road they were using in River Park Estate is blocked.

“The community had so far spent over N23 million to rehabilitate the road.  We are therefore appealing to FCTA to create an access road for the community,” she said.