There was a free flow of tears at Gishiri community in the heart of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as officials of the FCT administration demolished unplanned residential houses in the area.
The area which is under Katampe district was last visited for demolition in 2006, since then, the residents have continued to build under high power tension and water channels despite warnings from the government.
Most of the victims who were in tears acknowledged that the structures were marked in March, April, and early May of 2023, but feigned ignorance of the several notices.
One of the female victims who did not want her name mentioned, said, “I parked into this area in March 2022 and renewed my rent in March 2023, which cost N400,000, where will I park now? If I had known I wouldn’t have come to this area.”
The senior special assistant to the minister of FCT on Monitoring, Inspection, and Enforcement Ikharo Attah, said the demolition was necessitated by the need to reclaim the place for infrastructure development.
He said the victims took advantage of the proximity of the area to the Federal Capital City and flouted the Abuja master plan rules, turning the area into a haven for bad eggs.
Attah regretted that some of the unauthorized structures in the area were a hideout for drug dealers and suspected criminals that terrorize mostly Maitama and Asokoro residents in the city.
“This area is a water pipeline corridor coming from lower Usman Dam to various tanks in town, some of the buildings are on flood plain, this demolition is the mother of all demolition because it contains everything. Any land that is not approved by development control is illegal, and therefore will be removed,” he said.
