Locals in Kpaduma 1 and 2 communities in Asokoro extension of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have condemned the demolition of structures in their communities on Monday by officials of the FCT Task Force on City Sanitation.
City & Crime reports that the taskforce stormed the communities on Monday and demolished some buildings including the popular Guzape Shopping Mall in Kpaduma 1.
The secretary of Kpaduma 1 community, Simon Baba-Yerimah, who described the demolition as inhuman, wondered why they were being treated as refugees in their ancestral land.
He said the case concerning the land with the FCTA has been in court for the past 12 years awaiting judgment, adding that it was illegal for the administration to enter the communities to pull down houses despite the court case.
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“Our pains are that they did not just demolish our structures, but they demolished our livelihoods. This is disheartening, mostly in a democratic dispensation like this.
“We will no longer accept this barbaric act of the administration to push us out of our ancestral land without doing the proper thing.
“We will not allow them to demolish our structures again. It is either they kill us or leave our communities alone. We do not have weapons to defend ourselves, but we are saying that the government is supposed to care for its citizens and not treat them like animals by oppressing them.
“The questions are; why are they demolishing our homes, and in whose interest, government or individuals? Are we going to build our houses in the air? Is it a mistake God made by putting us in these communities?