By Chioma Nnodim
Land grabbers, on Tuesday, invaded CRD Estate, Lugbe, Abuja, taking over the community Town Hall, lands belonging to Nigerian Police, Fire Service, and Nigerian Postal Service.
This was done by a single developer who already fenced the land and was ready to commence sales to innocent Nigerians.
The residents decried the way and manner land grabbers are buying, developing structures on properties that are meant for public use.
It could be recalled that FCT Director of Development Control, Muktar Galadima, few weeks ago lamented the proliferation of illegal housing estates and other developments along Idu Train Station, Apo Tapi and Lugbe areas within the Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC.
He said the demolition becomes necessary, due to the rising adverts on social media by land grabbers and illegal developers of housing estates.
A resident, Udoh said, “I resides here in CRD estate, “In this same place we have land that are meant for public infrastructure, that belong to government, that have 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’s are selling those lands, meant for public infrastructure, to private individuals. If there must be justice, it must be fair.”
Speaking on removal of contraventions in the community, Udoh insisted that most of the buildings have approval but they were shocked to learn that their approvals are fake.
“Even though the buildings were marked but we went to Development Control to rectify them. FCT should help us, we pay tax and more so we are the ones that spent our money to put the infrastructure in place here”, he said.
Muina who also resides in the area, appealed to Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, to create access road because the major access road they were using in River Park Estate has been blocked. The community had so far spent over N23 million to rehabilitate the road. We are appealing to FCTA to create an access road for the community.
Meanwhile, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Comrade Ikharo Attah said, “Today we saw some shocking revelation here, when Director FCT Development Control, Muktar Galadima raised alarm over the activities of land grabbers in Lugbe some few weeks ago, we never really understood the gravity the grabbers have gone. But today we didn’t know how far they have gone but a whole community in Lugbe has cried out over land meant for Nigerian Police, Fire service, post office , town hall, have all been taken over by a single individual who fenced it and partition them and ready to sell. A few days ago we went to Durumi to reclaim a land that belongs to Nigerian 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 Musa Bello, will not accept this.”
While speaking on FCDA staff who are indicted, he said, he doesn’t think it is true, because it is the same FCT staff that are here working hard to remove the contraventions, so they couldn’t have been involved in it.
“So if he want to blame the FCT staff, they are the ones removing the contraventions in collaboration with other relevant agencies of the government,” he said.
He lamented that the land grabbers are already reaching a very dangerous point.”
“The land is getting finished because they know they can no longer take land from the public or take land not allocated, they are now targeting strategic government infrastructure. I know the Police which land are the current target will not lay low. All Police land will be reclaimed.
“Land grabbers should stay out of land that does not belong to but leave it for the original owners, the owners maybe government or individuals, or it may be a flood plain, Attah added.
