By Ekuson Nw’Ogbunka
Igbo traditional ruler in Karmo, a community in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, HRH John Osai has appealed to the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the estate developer on whose land his subjects’ houses were demolished to compensate them.
HRH John Osai said that if the FCTA and the developers can compensate the victims, it will go along way to amileorate their sufferings orchestrated by the recent hardship in the land.
He added that the best way to stop inflicting pains on innocent people is for the authority to be proactive, to take action at the initial stage instead of waiting till the building is completed before pulling it down
The royal father made the plead recently in Abuja in an exclusive interview with Core Reporters in his palace. He admitted that his houses and some of his friends were also demolished in 2006 during Malam Nasir El-Rufai’s reign as FCT Minister, but insisted that they were all compensated.
However, when contacted, the Gomo III of Karmo, Chief Umar Garni, Sarkin Karmo urged residents of Karmo, and others to conduct search before buying land in Karmo to avoid lossing money to fraud stars by buying lands already allocated. According to him, the said land that people build illegally was the same land demolition was carried out in 2006, and the victims were compensated adequately. Meanwhile, he claimed ignorance of the whole process
Similarly, HRH John Ossai, said that he came to Abuja in 1979, had many buildings in Karmo which were later demolished in 2006, although compensated.
While advising the victims, whom majority were Igbos, he urged them to stop taking risk of buying land in Karmo without proper investigation, Osai appealed to the government and the estate developers to give them something, to enable them get another place to live, as well as see something with which to start all over again.
One of the victims, Sunday Nnaji, who spoke to Core Reporters said the government officials and those from the estate developer came to the area, counted and marked their buildings, took their names, their phone numbers and promised to compensate them and left.
He said on their return for the compensation they started to demolish their buildings,without prior notice; a development which made them to constitute a committee that had been going to the government and the estate owner to iron things out, but unfortunately, the exercise was in fultility and they came back and completed the demolition.
However, another victim who preferred to be anonymous said that the son of the estate developer contacted explained that the demolition was as a result of the order by the FCT minister for land owners to develop their lands or risk revocation.
It was gathered that the structures were being sold at about N200, 000 to N400, 000 (two to four hundred thousand naira only), depending on the size of the building, to scrap dealers.
Core Reporters reported that those who couldn’t sell their own or refused to sell them, had their structures smashed and their properties destroyed alongside. We leant that looters carted away with people’s properties, such as refrigerators, fans, television, among others, making them loose there buildings and properties at the same time.
