…As FCTA Warns Against Buying Lands From Native Chiefs

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has said that no indigenous village in the nation’s capital will be razed until comprehensive resettlement is implemented.

The administration has warned individuals not to buy land from indigenous chiefs because the ongoing demolition only affects homes sold by unauthorized people.

Comrade Ikharo Attah, Chairman of the FCT Ministerial Taskforce on City Sanitation, announced this on Monday at an engagement meeting with chiefs and key stakeholders from the indigenous community of Iddo Sabo in Abuja.

According to Attah ; “The Abuja original inhabitants have been very peaceful, and the administration really commend them for that.

“In all that we have done, we have not sacked any indigenous community and certainly, we will not sack any without full resettlement but we are hoping that the community will actually enjoy the breath of fresh air. Enjoy the best they could having given their lands for Abuja to be developed.

“That’s why I keep telling people not to buy land from local chiefs because when the FCTA commences integration, you will discover that the people who are the indigenes will be the ones who will get the policy and enjoy the new homes while others who bought from them will leave.

“Go to Iddo Sirki, you will get the shock of your life, all the lands we have reclaimed are been turned to farmland by indigenous and those who bought from them are already reading the book of lamentation.
We are hoping that we will still engage once more before we return back to that place for demolition.”

Meanwhile, the FCTA Director of Security Services , Malam Adamu Gwary hinted that the engagement will be a continuous exercise that all the communities that would be affected must to participate.

While adding that in all the affected communities, traditional leaders, youth leaders and the groups will be engaged, just as he warned mischief makers against misinterpreting the intent of the government.

“Now that we have this interface, when we are going back with the development control, we will understand the entire environment and what falls within the spheres that are considered indigenous that are part and parcel hat we can concede and those that we know is an outright infraction and abrasion of the city planning.”

On his part, the District Head of Gui, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Alhaji Hassan Yusuf, commended the FCTA for taking steps to engage the stakeholders on the need to sanitize the city in line with the Abuja masterplan.

He promised the full commitment of the Abuja natives to the ongoing cleanup to restore sanity in the Abuja communities.

According to him ; “I don’t have anything to say than to thank you for honouring my request to stop demolition until we have a roundtable discussion.

“You have given us enough time to go back and sanitise our community and we will not fail you. Before our second meeting, you will hear a positive result.

“The remaining part of the community has been touched already, so I cannot say he should not come back. If I say that I’m abusing myself. I cannot stop demolition but let it be done in a sensible way.” Alhaji Yusuf said

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello said that the FCT Administration was working assiduously to strengthen its healthcare facilities to combat infectious diseases.

This, according to him will enhance its capacity to confront the outbreak of any infectious disease, stressing that its preparedness has thus far aided it in effectively combating the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 
The Minister made this known when he received the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator to Nigeria, Ambassador Edward Kallon and his team on a courtesy visit to the FCTA.

Bello hinted that, “We have established good protocols to make sure that we handle this third wave. The protocols that we have established during the first wave and the second wave have helped us tremendously and the experience and institutional capacity we’ve been able to develop during the last two phases is also helping us now.

 
“We are comfortable now with the production and storage of oxygen in the FCT. We have a number of plants that are up and running, some under the Federal Government and quite a few under the FCT administration.

“ We have now under the FCTA, a facility where we can take in up to 80 patients at one go who require full oxygen and this is piped to their beds where they can be taken care of. By the grace of God, we have never had the occasion to require the services of that facility, but it’s there. The medical personnel are there, all the trainings have been done.  This is one investment that we have done at huge cost, but we pray that we never use it”, the Minister stated.

He attributed the successes achieved in the FCT in the fight against the virus, to partnerships and cooperation from the UN and other development partners.

Bello also assured his guests that the FCTA will not relent in its responsibility of keeping residents safe and will continue to encourage them to adhere to all non-pharmaceutical protocols and getting vaccinated.

 
The minister however commended the United Nations for its continued support to the FCT in the fight against COVID 19.

Speaking on the 10th anniversary of the UN building bombing, the Minister said it was a sad event that could not be forgotten in a hurry and expressed happiness at the opportunity of working to rehabilitate  the building even better than it was prior to the incident.

Earlier, Ambassador Edward Kallon had commended the Minister for facilitating the rehabilitation of the UN House after the  2011 attack, adding that though it was a very sad day for the UN family, the defiance of the government of Nigeria against terrorism, as indicated in the investment made to rehabilitate the building, has kept hope alive.

 
He also cautioned against complacency in the fight against COVID 19, especially in the face of the third wave of the virus, which he described as more potent, advising on the adherence to non-pharmaceutical safety protocols.

…Victims Link Their Troubles To Abuja Natives, Says We Pay Between N2,000, N10,000 As Protection Cost

Residents of Sabo Iddo were one again thrown into mourning as the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) visited the community the fifth times to bulldozers to demolished illegal structures.

It would be recalled that officials of FCT Ministerial Task Team on City Sanitation led by it’s chairman, Comrade Ikharo Attah about a month ago demolished several houses built without building approval.

According to Attah, the demolition exercise was to promote sanity in accordance with the Abuja master plan, rather than to harm civilians.

He ,however, expressed concern most structures were raised without the approval of the FCT Administration’s Department of Development Control (DDC).

The chairman said, “Demolition at Sabo Iddo is to keep Abuja clean not to hurt the residents, or those being affected.

Saying, the painful thing in this community is that those who ought to have move after we came for the first clean up refused and are being deceived by the indigenes to contribute money from N2,000 to N10,000 to bribe us not to come back for the demolition, if they had gave us bribe and it has worked why are we demolishing?.

“We would not have the moral standard to demolish the illegal structures, if we had collected bribe”.

While heeding to the appeal by the indigenes for FCTA to stop the demolition, Attah hinted that the sanitation team will decide on the next step of action in Sabo-Iddo after briefing the minister of FCT Malam Muhammad Musa Bello on the exercise carried out so far.

Meanwhile , the Joint Security Commander for the exercise, CSP Idowu Azeez had warned officers involved in the operation against human rights abuses.

Azeez charged them to understand that the principle of empathy demands that security personnel do their job while respecting the right of those affected by the demolition.

Some of the victims who don’t want their names mentioned, said they were misled by the natives to buy the land and build.

According to those affected, the indigene told them that, the lands were genuine because they were the inhabitants.

“The indigene sold the land to us and we built on it, they told us that nothing was going to happen.

“Since the demolition started, the indigenes have been asking us to pay money so that they will go and discuss with FCTA officials, We have been contributing as from N2,000 to N10,000 to give them, yet the demolition is being carried out” they said.

Also, the Secretary Control and Command, FCTA Security Services, Mr Peter Olumuji said the clean up exercise would help in the fight against insecurity in the area.

Says PDP Chairman House Spared

Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) accused the administration of being selective in its continuing demolition exercises in the nation’s capital.

Some locals, particularly those in the Iddo Sabo neighbourhood, who spoke with newsmen on the site following the clean-up, claimed that the FCT Ministerial Task Team on City Sanitation left some structures belonging to big wings untouched.

It would be recalled that approximately a month ago, the FCT Ministerial Task Team on City Sanitation, led by Comrade Ikharo Attah, demolished unlawful structures near the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) permanent site at Iddo Sarki and Sabo Iddo.

One of the victims, Samuel Amalu said, ” just came here two years ago, I bought the land from chief and we were not told that they were coming for demolition. I cried when my house was brought down but I later stop crying because doing such will not solve the problem.

“The house left here belong to chairman of PDP, and he said they can’t touch his house. According to him, he decided to remove his zinc because of the pain we are feeling, but leaving his house and demolishing the ones inside is not fair”

Another resident, Mrs Apollos Funmi asked why the PDP chairman’s house was spared when every other structure around his house was pulled down.

“How comes that the PDP chairman’s house was spared, the demolition is not fair to the ordinary man.” she said.

Reacting to the allegations , the Chairman of the FCT Ministerial Committee on City Sanitation, dismissed the accusations as baseless and unfair, insisting that the administration has always applied the principle of human face while implementing it’s policies.

Attah, however, maintained that the cleanup operation is being carried out in phases, stressing that the supposed spared houses were only given time to evacuate their properties.

“I think it’s completely unfair for anyone to accuse the FCT Minister of being bias or partial. Which is not the case at all. It’s all about the policy of human face which we recognize here.”

Giving instances of such he said, “The day we went to Iddo Sabo, you all saw what played out there, we tried as much as possible to understand the people.

“What I can tell you is that the owner of that particular building pleaded with us very strongly that he is somewhat not as prepared as expected, in fact that he was in shock. And in line with the human face principle, we decided to give them time. We went in, finished the cleanup operation for that particular day and pulled out with a promise to return. The same thing played out when we went into Iddo Sarki where we went to the house of a particular widow but the councilor in that area appealed that we give her time so they can relocate her beyond the fence line so you see its all about human face and not bias. If you follow through all our operations, you will see we have been fair

“Though we haven’t returned to Iddo Sabo since the last operation we carried out in the community about two weeks ago, but that does not mean we are biased and will be unfair to judge us as being bias.

“If you know the FCT Minister can vouch for him that Malam Mohammed Musa Bello, will be the last man to be partial. Even if Attah is partial, the minister will not be partial and that’s just the honest truth about it, and we must set the records straight,” he explained.

…As 536 Structures Are Demolished

Residents of Mpape village wanted stronger security surveillance in order to dissuade angered displaced criminal groups from attacking innocent people.

Unprovoked attacks and theft of innocent people’s personal belongings have continued since the intensive cleaning operation began, with a focus on structures along road corridors and shanties housing suspected criminals, according to the horrified residents.

The clean-up exercise found 536 structures, the most of which were shanties, as well as local drama theaters, also known as ‘gidan drama’ in hausa, and a number of other locations suspected of being criminal hideouts.

Residents’ reactions to the intense bombardment, on the other hand, were divided.

While some locals claimed that the activity produced a clean environment, others urged that it be restricted to the highways.

Comrade Ikharo Attah, Chairman of the FCT Ministerial Committee on City Sanitation, said the cleanup exercise will take a long time, adding that the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has promised to restore sanity to Mpape.

Attah went on to say that several of the structures demolished near highways were said to be housing criminal gangs.

While the administration was sad that the exercise caused so much disruption to citizens, he highlighted that the government could not be on the lookout for illegalities that would lead the exercise to be overrun.

According to him; ” what we observed today is the excessive level of criminalities in Mpape is very worrisome, you can see that even today they are still snatching people’s things.

” Several arrests have been made of the criminals. We thought we could just restrict ourselves to along the roads, but we have to move to where the criminals are staying”, he said.

On the arrested suspects, the Commander Combined Task Force, Idowu Azeez disclosed that about four suspected criminals that were arrested with some dangerous weapons were handed over to the Mpape Police divisional headquarters for further investigation. 

He also noted that Security will be beefed in the area to forestall further attacks of the residents. 

Also speaking , the Secretary, Command and Control of FCT Security Services, Mr Peter Olumuji said the Secretariat was working in concert with relevant security agencies to provide more surveillance within the area. 

Olumuji noted that the reported increased snatching of personal belongings from residents, was because the dislodged criminal elements have become shelterless.

He hinted that the security arrangements been put in place will ensure that all the criminal elements were completely eliminated from the place.