Shop owners in Kubwa demand compensation after “unjust demolition”

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Shop owners whose shops at D.C. Market in Phase IV of Kubwa Satellite Town were demolished by by Bwari Area Council have decried the refusal of the council to compensate them.

The shops owners who insisted that the demolition was carried out unjustly, wondered how law-abiding residents of Abuja will be allowed to suffer while a few make gains off their sweat?

It was gathered that they had previously sought help from the Human Rights Radio-Brekete family, but to no avail.

“Are we to be yet another victim of mismanagement and corruption within the system?” One of the victims lamented.

Snippets from findings of a Committee set up to investigate activities at the market was shocked to note that the Bwari Area Council neither possess an approval of allocation of the land nor a building plan approval. More shocking was that on-going development on the site violated the approved land use plan of the District market site.

For instance, spaces for parking, places of worship, other commercial services, offices, etc were already built up into market stalls. Hence the entire 19.39 hectares of land could be said to have been thoroughly abused with consequences for future smooth operations at the Market.

A source who would not wish to be named disclosed that the Director, Project of the Bwari Area Council was at the centre of the land grabbing action. Enraged by the findings, it was further gathered that the Committee recommended his immediate recall by the Area Council Service Commission to pave way for an unfettered investigation of the gross abuse in the Market.

This is nothing but a clear case of institutional land grabbing, with innocent residents and Nigerians in general as the victims.

However, the report also indicated that the immediate past Minister Mal Muhammad Musa Bello approved for the market to be allocated to the Abuja Investment Company Limited (AICL) to develop the regional market inline with the Abuja Master plan.

All eyes are on FCTA to ensure that all those responsible for the gross administrative rascality on the market land are brought to the book to serve as deterrence to others.