Hundreds of students were on Wednesday left stranded after the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) resumed demolition of houses in Iddo Sarki, a community opposite the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) along the airport road.
At least 350 buildings, mostly occupied by students, were pulled down over alleged land use infractions.
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Donatus Ugwu, one of the students, who spoke to Daily Trust, said he found the location ideal as it was just across the university.
He said, “We feel oppressed and we feel like we are strangers in our own country.”
The demolition exercise was the third in a series in the past three months in the community, and authorities of the FCTA said it was meant to frustrate desperate investors who had taken advantage of the community’s proximity to the university to build illegal hostels.
The Chairman, FCT Ministerial Committee on City Sanitation, Ikharo Attah, said adequate notice was given to the owners and occupants of the houses before the bulldozers were moved in.
He added that the FCT minister was committed to the ongoing exercise as it was part of measures to save the nation’s capital from becoming a slum.
He also said the demolition would be taken to the Mpape area of the FCT.
According to him, enough time and notice have been given to Mpape residents, stating that in two weeks bulldozers would move there.
He added that FCTA would not pay compensation to the victims who contravened extant laws by building illegally.
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