FCTA demolishes structures in Kubwa

Kubwa Online

It was all panic  and  tears  during the week when officials of Development Control Department of Federal capital Territory, (FCTA) rolled out their bulldozers and pulled down  over 15 buildings  in Kubwa.

The department said that it carried out the demolition  after  serving notices last  month to the occupants of the structures built on flood plains at Kubwa.  

According to Tpl Yussuff Abdullahi Sudangi, District Officer, Kubwa, he said, “we are here to remove illegal structures on the flood plains, we have marked several locations, we have countless number of structures, along the flood plains without requisite approved plans and the marking was done since January.’’

When asked if those affected would be compensated, Sodangi said  the compensation aspect would be decided by his  superiors.

As at the time of filing this report, fifteen houses have been demolished and several others still waiting to be pulled down.

Narrating his ordeals, one of the victims of the demolition exercise, Emmanuel Okoro, whose restaurant was pulled down, said he  was not served with any notice, stating that he was only told that the extension of his building was too close to the river, which he agreed to remove but was not allowed before his building was brought down. 

Similarly, a   2-storey  building  said to belong  to the Association of  Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) in Maitama has been pulled down on the premise that the building was illegally erected.

The two-storey building which was built between two fences was said to be part of Ella Crescent and where the building was erected was closed.

Addressing news men, District Officer of Maitama, Isa Aliyu said, “this particular building is on a crescent which is a part of Ella Crescent, we served several notices before this demolition.”

Aliyu added that when the notice was served, the police officer attached to the building refused to collect the notice but asked them to drop it at ALGON office which they did.