Residents of Jikoko Community, Mpape in Bwari Area Council, Abuja on Tuesday took to the street to protest against the unlawful takeover of their land and demolition of their property by private developers.
The protesters were armed with placards with inscriptions like, “What we want is justice! We want our land back, Abuja land grabbers, allow the poor to breathe, Minister Wike please help us to secure our land”, among others.
The landowners claimed that they hold valid titles allocated by the Bwari Area Council between 1999 and 2003, predating recent Supreme Court rulings regarding council allocation authority.
They alleged that developers destroyed existing fences, foundations, and structures without prior notification or revocation letters.
The victims further alleged suspicious speed in the developers’ building approvals and are appealing to theMinister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, President Bola Tinubu, and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to intervene, restore their lands, and investigate potential corruption or administrative irregularities.
Addressing journalists on behalf of the protesters, Mr. Emma Okorie estimated that between 50 and 100 hectares of land are being taken from various owners.
He argued that the current revocations are unlawful because they lack official revocation letters or informed communication.
Okorie stated: “One of the developers that I confronted told me that there are 45 companies, and to his own estate alone, he was given about six hectares of land. And here we are looking at maybe approximately 50, 60, or even 100 hectares of land being taken.
“This thing that is going on here goes contrary to the government policy of making housing affordable to Nigerians. The president has a Renewed Hope estate that he’s doing to make sure housing is made available to people. But it’s not everybody that can key into it. Some of us have gotten land here.
“Our expectation is that we and our families will also settle down here, and now it is being taken away from us for no just cause. We cannot understand why. We have been told that the Area Councils have no authority to allocate land via a supreme court judgment as said by the minister. However, we also know that laws do not act retrogressively. So these allocations have been made prior to that Supreme Court pronouncement.
“I do not think that the government or whoever has orchestrated this should go backward. If these allocations were done today. Then we can be saying a different thing. Some are even dead. Some people couldn’t take the news. They can’t even come out here today to talk. So our appeal is to the minister.”
Okorie wondered if the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike was aware of the forceful takeover of their land or if it was orchestrated by some staff at the FCDA.
He revealed that they had also taken their protest to the Bwari Area Council who issued the documents to the land, but they were left to their fate as the Council refused to intervene.
In his submission, Mr. Kamorudeen Olalekan said the developers claimed that the area has been reallocated to them by the Wike, with Certificate of Occupancy issued to them.
He, however, appealed to the monster to reconsider and give them back their land.
Olalekan wondere why the land was being taken away from them, saying there was no revocation letter, or any communication regarding the land.
The protesters called on the National Assembly to intervene on the issue.