By Chioma Nnodim
Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, has issued a warning to owners of unapproved structures in Kabusa village, who are disguising their properties as indigenous houses, to come up with another format, as it is aware of their tricks.
The FCT Administration has resumed the removal of illegal structures and shanties in the area, and will not hesitate to pull down all illegal houses belonging to non-indigenes.
Speaking to Journalists during the demolition exercise, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring Inspection and Enforcement, Comrade Ikharo Attah, emphasized that while the administration will respect the rights of the original inhabitants to resettlement and compensation, it will remove all illegal houses belonging to non-indigenes.
Attah warned against mischief makers inscribing “Gbagyi House” on structures marked for demolition, and those who collect money from non-indigenes to provide them cover.
Attah explained that the FCTA will not touch houses belonging to the indigenous people, as they have rights to resettlement and compensation. However, those who are non-indigenes and are writing “indigenes house” on their buildings will have their illegal structures removed.
He further stated that the team will sustain the operation until all shanties and illegal structures fueling insecurity in the neighbourhood are removed.
The Special Assistant to the Minister on Community Relations, Comrade Isaac David, who was also present at the scene, emphasized that the welfare of the indigenous people, which is backed by the constitution, must be respected, even as the FCT undergoes development.
He appealed to the Development Control to step down their actions to allow the indigenous people to pack their belongings.
“The indigenous people in FCT have customary rights over property in FCT, that is why some issues are being looked into critically because they are constitutional issues.
There are certain issues that the FCT minister cannot do, but can only be addressed by the National Assembly by implementing some particular section that gives the indigenous people rights.”
The District Head of Kabusa Village, Chief Zawu Zufuzhizow John, pleaded with the FCT Administration to suspend the demolition exercise until the end of the rainy season.
“We are pleading with the minister to stop this demolition so that we can have the necessary meetings and understand ourselves before any other thing will take place,” he said.
