FCT Community Accuses FCDA, Development Control Of Harassment

Natives and residents of Kpaduma community at Asokoro extension of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have appealed to the minister of FCT, Mallam Muhammad Bello to direct officials of the department of development control and Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to stop harassing them, pending the determination of their case in court.

The spokesperson of the community, Hon Bala Iyah in a press briefing yesterday explained that the case challenging the decision of the FCTA to resettle them is still in court, so there is no need for development control to continue to harass them with their presence.

Iyah disclosed that the FCTA had allocated their community land to Sun Rise Estate Developer and that they are presently in discussion with the company for possible integration which the company had agreed to leave about 61 hectares of the land for them.

“We are still in negotiation with the estates’ developer and the document is on the table of the director of Resettlement and Compensation, because they have written the agreement. But, we have a little argument about three to four hectares of land, which we told them has to do with the graves of our ancestors and our chief palace.

“We believe that they will consider our reasons and everything will be settled. Last year in December, the officials of resettlement and compensation came here for assessment, which they reviewed when we expressed our dissatisfaction and we are still waiting to see the review they did since then.

“So, we do not know the reason why the officials of development control are still coming to threaten us, because their presence is a threat to us. Nobody knows what is in their mind. They know that there is a court injunction restraining the activities of the government in this community, until the determination of the case in court,” he said.

Also, the chief of Kpaduma community, Chief Yusuf Dio Gbezhi, expressed confidence that the community and Sun Rise Estates developers will come to an agreement and that the challenges they are facing with the FCDA will be a thing of the past.