Tears, Anger As Nigerian Capital Territory Authorities, FCTA Demolish Houses, Places Of Worship In Abuja

The many residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have cried out over the demolition of their structures.

They decried the continuous demolition of houses in the nation’s capital by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

SaharaReporters gathered that several houses were recently pulled down in the Durumi 3 area of the Federal Capital Territory, triggering a mixture of fear and anger among residents.

The demolition, particularly without any form of compensation given to the affected persons, has worsened hardship in the area as many residents have been displaced.

An eyewitness, Mohammed Adam, who spoke to SaharaReporters said the forced eviction was supervised by personnel of the Nigerian Army.

The demolition exercise started at about 10 am on Wednesday, he also said.

“Before they came today, they had shot a young person in the leg when they came to mark houses for demolition some two months ago.

“The exercise lasted for hours with heavy security personnel to avoid the breakdown of law and order,” Adam told SaharaReporters.

Another affected resident added that the reason given to them for the demolition was alleged suspicion of terrorist infiltration in the community.

Amongst the properties demolished were a central mosque and a church belonging to the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

When SaharaReporters contacted the officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) for reasons behind the eviction, they refused to give any.

Instead, they referred the reporter to the FCT Minister.

This demolition joins a series of housing demolitions and forced evictions in the Federal Capital Territory in recent times.