Demolition: Tears of anguish as FCTA hits squatters’ settlement at Gishiri village

By Stanley Onyekwere

There was an outburst of tears of anguish from occupants of a squatters’ settlement Gishiri community, as officials of the Federal Capital Territory (FCTA) rolled in bulldozers and demolished illegal structures, as part of its effort to reclaim encroached land for infrastructural development in the area.
It was observed that many affected inhabitants teared up when the officials, accompanied by joint security operatives started pulling down their houses, most of which were built barely three years ago.
Also, the settlement which serves mainly as a residential place to hundreds of people is part of Katampe District is located adjacent major road into the highbrow area of Maitama District, in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC). It was learnt that the Gishiri community was last visited for demolition in 2006, but since then, many have continued to build on high power tension and water channels, despite warning from the government.
However, most of the victims that were in tears acknowledged that the structures were marked in March, April and early May in 2023, but feigned ignorance of the several notices.
One of the female victims who don’t want her name mentioned, said: “I moved into this area in March, 2022, and just renewed my rent in March, 2023, which cost N400,000.00, where can I relocate to now that the apartment has been removed?
“Even though they gave us warning about the exercise, most of us never knew it will be carried out. So, if I had known I wouldn’t have come to this area.”
Another affected person, who gave his name as James, decried despite the abatement notice, most of them were not able to salvage their household items as they never expected it to come through, due to previous warnings that weren’t effected.
James, who groaned that his family is now displaced, claimed that hitherto the exercise, he owned eight one-bed room apartments which he rented out to people, and two bed room apartment, where he and his family occupied.
Explaining the exercise, Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to the FCT Minister, Comrade Ikharo Attah, said the demolition was necessitated by the need to reclaim the place for infrastructure development.
Attah said the victims took advantage of the proximity of the area to the Federal Capital City and flouted the Abuja master plan rules, turning the area to haven for bad eggs.
He however, regretted that some of the unauthorized structures in the area were hideout for drug dealers and suspected criminals that terrorize mostly Maitama and Asokoro residents in the city.
“We came here today to attack the triple illegalities associated with squatter settlements, the criminals’ den inside the cashew plantation in Gishiri, where we recovered cocaine and other hard drugs.
“Although there were tears and lamentations, but we are not done yet as we just getting warm up in Gishiri, and this is the first time, the bulldozers came into Gishiri, since the days of Mallam Nasiru Ahmed El’rufai as FCT Minister.
“The team from Development Control is firing from all cylinders, and even as those of us who are political appointees are going, we are sure that when we leave, the team on ground is set to continue the city clean up exercise”
On his party the Director, Department of Development Control, Murkhtar Galadima after the demolition, said the exercise which is mother of all demolitions was to rid the city of illegal structures.
“The cleanup exercise is to rid the city of illegal structures. When you see demolition like this is because of the magnitude of illegal structures, in this particular area over 10 years ago we have been marking and removing but no headway but today we got a headway.
“This area is a water pipeline corridor coming from lower Usman Dam to various tanks in town, some of the buildings are on flood plain, this demolition is mother of all demolition because it contains everything. Any land that is not approved by development control is illegal, and therefore will be removed”, he said.