By Daniel Tyokua
Lugbe residents in an outskirt of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja have expressed worry over activities of land grabbers in the area.
They lamented the way land grabbers were buying and developing structures on the properties meant for public use.
According to the residents, the land grabbers have taken over the town hall, the land that belongs to Nigerian Police, Fire Service and NiPost office, were all taken over by an individual and already fenced.
Recall that Director FCT Department of Development control, Mukhtar Galadima, few weeks ago had decried the proliferation of illegal housing estates and other developments along Idu Train Station, Apo Tapi and Lugbe areas within the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
He said the alarm became necessary, due to the rising adverts on social media by land grabbers and illegal developers of housing estates.
A resident, Udoh said, “I resides here in CRD estate, “In this same place we have land that are meant for public infrastructure, that belong to government, that have been fenced by an individual and is ready to sell out this land, and they come with FCT approvals and their personnel, so the same personnel are selling those lands (meant for public infrastructure) to private individuals. If there must be justice, it must be fair”.
On removal of contraventions in the community, Udoh insisted that most of the buildings have approval but they were shocked to learn that their approvals are fake.
“Even though the buildings were marked but we went to Development Control to rectify them. FCT should help us, we pay tax and more so we are the ones that spent our money to put the infrastructure in place here”, he said.
Muina who also reside in the area, appealed to Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to create access road because the major access road they were using in River Park Estate has been blocked.
She said the community had so far spent over N23 million to rehabilitate the road, “We have therefore appealed to FCTA to create an access road for the community.
Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah, in his response at the site in Lugbe, said “we saw some shocking revelation here, when Director FCT Development control, Muktar Galadima raised alarm over the activities of land grabbers in Lugbe, few weeks ago.
” We never really understood the gravity. But today, we didn’t know how far they have gone but a whole community in Lugbe has cried out over land meant for Nigerian Police, Fire service, post office , town hall, have all been taken over by a single individual who fenced it and partition them ready start selling.
“A few days ago we went to Durumi to reclaim a land that belongs to Nigerian Police in a place called Monkey village, now I think the land grabbers are going into dangerous terrain targeting government owned facilities, which I know the FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Bello, will not accept this”.
On FCDA staff being indicted, Attah said, he doesn’t think it is true, because it is the same FCT staff that are here working hard to remove the contraventions, so they couldn’t have been involved in it.
“So if he want to blame the FCT staff, they are the ones removing the contraventions in collaboration with other relevant agencies of the government”, he said.
