FCT natives raise alarm over planting of pegs at their homes by army

Natives of Tungan Kwaso, Anagada and Tungan Maje communities in the FCT have raised the alarm over alleged planting of pegs by the Nigerian army in the backyard of their ancestral homes in the area.

The spokesman of the natives in the communities, Comrade Adamu Ishaku, spoke after he conducted newsmen alongside the FCT commissioner for Public Complaints Commission, Mr Ezikiel Dalhatu Musa, and some village chiefs around some of the houses where the pegs were allegedly planted by the army on Thursday.

He said the army came to some of the communities last Saturday and allegedly planted the pegs at the backyard of some houses in the area without consulting any of the village chiefs or district heads.

“Just last Saturday, the Nigerian Army came and planted pegs at the backyard of some of my houses with the intention to pull down some of our ancestral homes. We will not accept it and we want the authorities concerned to wade into this matter,” he said.

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Also speaking, the FCT commissioner for Public Complaints Commission, Mr Dalhatu Musa, said it was unfortunate that despite the federal government barring the Nigerian Army from demolishing houses of natives in the area, the army authorities have continued to intimidate the natives of the communities.

“Besides, the face-off between the natives of this affected communities and the Nigerian Army has been lingering since 2009, until recently when I heard the federal government ordered the Nigerian military to vacate that land forthwith,” he said.

He added “and that part of the land along Airport Road had been earmarked for aviation authorities for the development of the second phase of the airport.”

The commissioner, however, called on the relevant government authorities to, as a matter of urgency, halt the military authorities from tampering with the natives’ houses in the affected communities.

He urged residents, especially the youth, to continue to be law-abiding to constituted authorities, until relevant government authorities waded in to the matter.

There was no immediate response from the army authorities on the issue as of the time of filing this report on Thursday.