Residents of Guita and Kuzhako, situated along the Kubwa-Bwari old road in the FCT have cried out over the alleged seizure of their farmlands by the Nigerian Air Force without compensation.
The lands, according to them, were taken over during the wet season farming about eight years ago and their crops were destroyed.
About 200 farmers from the two communities and other areas are said to be affected by the acquisition of the land, measuring about 40 hectares.
The locals said their farmlands have since been converted to barracks.
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In an interview with Abuja Metro, the head of Guita community, Malam Mathias Abubakar Ibrahim, called for payment of compensation to enable the affected people to continue with their source of livelihood.
Also speaking, the Madaki of Kuzhako, Adamu Luka, said about 60 farmers are affected by the development in his community alone.
He said the initial arrangement was to compensate farmers through the number of economic trees available on the farmlands, but alleged that “Even with that arrangement, nothing has been paid, ever since.’’
He said most of the affected farmers have no place to farm now.
“This is the only place we know in the whole FCT or elsewhere. We have taken our complaint to the Bwari Area Council and also to the FCT minister’s office without a positive response,’’ he said.
Speaking on their historical background in the area, the chief of Guita, Mathias Abubakar Ibrahim, said their forefathers migrated to the area from Ijah-Gbagyi community in Tafa LGA of Niger State about two centuries ago.
He said farming and hunting are the only professions they inherited from their forefathers.
He said the people from nearby Kubwa and Bwari towns have continued to explore the area to build houses, but they are being discouraged by the lack of motorable road and other basic amenities like potable water and health centre in the axis.
“We have to rush to Bwari or Kubwa during emergency health situations,” he said.
The chief explained that the first primary school block in the area was built through communal effort, with another one now currently underway by an agency under the World Bank.
Luka Kure, a title holder of Kure community, said the area had witnessed kidnapping incidents but that the situation has been checked following security improvement. He called on the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to site a junior secondary school in the axis
When contacted, the spokesman of the Nigerian Air Force, Olusola Akinboyewa, told one of our correspondents that they would get details of the whole matter and revert.
He said, “I will keep on it and give you feedback soon, please. Thanks again for reaching out on the matter. I appreciate. I’ll get back to you on the matter once we have the whole picture.”
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