Some Iddo Sarki residents were allegedly manhandled while farmlands were destroyed by soldiers during a dispute over land in the area last Friday.
Witnesses said soldiers stormed the community in a bid to begin work on the land but the residents resisted, saying due process must be followed.
The residents said they have not been paid compensation for their land since 2008 when the land was taken over by the government.
The Chief of Jiwa, Idris Musa, said trouble started last Thursday when soldiers came to clear some farmlands but the owners resisted them.
He said that he reported the case to the Department of State Security (DSS), AMAC chairman and FCT minister.
Musa said that the soldiers returned the next day with nine trucks of armed personnel and began clearing the farmlands, adding that they allegedly beat some farmers who were seen farming nearby.
He said that due process must be followed for the residents to surrender their farmlands.
“I have not seen the representative of the Army in my palace not to talk of discussing land issue and compensation,” he said. “If they want the land, they should go to the FCDA and FCDA will come to us and takeover the land officially.”
City News gathered that the FCT Minister, Muhammad Musa Bello, appealled to the residents to remain calm and avoid confrontation with the Army.
The minister, who spoke through his special assistant on security, Abdullahi Adamu, said that solution would be found to the problem.
