Residents appeal to FCT minister to stop planned demolition of ‘illegal’ estates

The Apo hills landlords’ residents association has appealed to Muhammad Bello, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), to stop the planned demolition of estates built illegally in Apo-Tapia and Lugbe, Abuja.

Miracle Uduma, the secretary of the association spoke on Thursday during a peaceful protest by members of the association in Asokoro.

There have been reports that the FCT administration, on March 10 decried the increase in illegal housing estates and other activities along Idu train station at Apo-Tapia and Lugbe areas of Abuja municipal area council (AMAC).

Uduma said that the landlords of Apo hills who had been living in the area for more than six years were deceived by developers that they obtained original land title documents from the relevant authorities in charge of FCT administration.

“We are here to appeal to the Federal Capital Territory Administration to come to our aid because we have been lied to and all of our investments are about to go down,” NAN quoted him as saying.

“This is a call for help because we have been lied to and right now our lives are in danger. Until March 10, we do not know the truth about what was going on in our homes.

“We are totally uninformed about the dealings of most of these people who claimed to be developers who turn out to be land grabbers and it is a very big issue.

“We got to know about the situation when the director of the department of development control, FCTA, Mukhtar Galadima came on national television and said that they were going to demolish illegal houses in Apo, which is where we reside.

“Until that interview by Galadima, we never knew or heard any idea that those land had no title.

“All the developers, all the estate owners have been playing us all along, they gave us falsified documents, claiming that they have land title in this place and encouraged us to build,” he said.

The secretary said the majority of those who live in the area are retirees, noting that the residents were ready to pay contravention fees to the FCT to enable them to keep their houses instead of demolishing them.

NAN reports that Galadima earlier raised the alarm over the growing adverts on social media by land grabbers and those who engaged illegally in housing development, at a news conference.

He said that the department had issued demolition notices to illegal developers along the Idu train station, Apo-Tapia and Lugbe areas, where “people are busy spending money.”

He said that the areas that were affected had not yet been detailed with a designed layout, “but people are carrying fake title documents that they were allocated by AMAC.

“Our attention has been drawn to some areas of the city where people are developing without any title developments.

“And we want to educate the public and to inform them that some of these adverts are on illegal developments.”