By Laide Akinboade, Abuja 

The Federal Capital Territory Administration ( FCTA), on Monday stormed another area in Gwarimpa District, demolishing multiple illegal structures said to have been built on road corridors. 

The illegal structures used as both residential and commercial purposes, occupied a large chunk of the major interchange linking Gwarimpa to Karasana and Kafe Districts .

Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring,Inspection and Enforcement to FCT Minister, Ikharo Attah who led the team said reclaiming the road corridors within the districts had become very important to the administration. 

Attah noted that more worrisome about the demolished place, is reports that many criminal activities were traceable there. 

According to him, while there are plans by the administration to implement the road projects within that corridor, there was need for the environmental nuisances to be cleared.

Attah said, “There is excessive encroachment to the road corridors and there have been too much reports of criminal activities. 

“We marked this place two years ago , remarked it last year, it was also marked again in May this year. 

“It is sad that the people waited after these markings and warnings. The only structures that will not be touched here, are the ones belonging to indigenous people”.

One of the victims, Peter Livinus who stood on the rumbles of his demolished house, looking confused however denied that he was given a quit notice.

On further probing, the victim admitted that some of the houses in the area were marked, but not his own.

While he condemned the actions, saying he has been thrown into untold hardship, he also appealed to government to help and alleviate their sufferings with some palliative.

By Laide Akinboade, Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has commenced the demolition of over 100 buildings constructed on waterways at Dutse Makaranta, a populated suburb in Bwari Area Council in order to prevent perennial flooding in the area.

The Administration said it could no longer wait for unwilling residents to comply with early warnings to save lives, after the destructive flooding that occurred in the community four days ago.

Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah who led the demolition team yesterday to the community, said it would be very irresponsible for any government to wait for residents who were not willing to obey extant directives.

Attah who expressed utmost disgust that occupiers and owners of the buildings on waterways in the community have deliberately refused to heed warnings, said the administration was welding the big stick to save lives, properties and environment.

He noted that it was an act of God that the heavy flooding that swept through the area four days did not leave any record of death, sparing the government of any careless social media backlash.

Attah explained that the owners and occupiers of the buildings on the waterways have been warned and asked to leave the area from the onset, but refused to comply, hence the forceful ejection.

He was particularly bittered that some of the doomed buildings were a private school, churches where innocent children, wards and worshipers would have been swept away, had the flooding occurred on working days or even during religious feast.

“Today we are commencing a citywide operation against buildings sitting on water plains and riverbeds. Here in Dutse Makaranta, you could see heavy flooding, we thank God the rainfall on Sunday afternoon at about 1 and 2pm when many had left the church and school was closed.  The water got to the window levels and members had fled.  The casualties here would have been extremely massive.

“Most people in this area were out, only two men who were on their beds. When the water came, one of the walls to a building fell on the bed of one man and the man fled his house and packed everything quickly.

“We hope that this will send a strong message to all those who have been on water plains and corridors.

“We thank God that we did not lose any life here. But we wonder how people will put their buildings without a building plan approval and now they are telling us to try and understand.

“FCTA has marked the buildings from Foundation level, they have been warned to leave that this is a disaster zone. They kept marking at window and roofing levels, warning them to leave that flooding was coming, but they never believed,” he added.

A resident of the Community, Ibrahim Shaibu confirmed that those affected by the demolition actually were aware that the area was prone to flooding, but ignored all warnings.

Shaibu who claimed he has lived in the community for about 20 years acknowledged that the flooding that occurred three days ago was unprecedented, but thanked God that no life was lost.

He claimed that the indigenous people should be blamed for whatever destruction the flooding has caused, as they have continued to resell the place after each demolition exercise.

From Yagana Muhammad, Yola

Commercial activities were Tuesday morning grounded in Jimeta, the commercial Headquarters of Adamawa State for over three hours following a violent protest by tricycle riders as a result of what they tagged as unnecessary extortion by Jimeta Marshal in the state capital.

The protesters obstructed commercial activities at Mubi roundabout, one of the commercial nerve centers in the metropolis, forcing business premises to shut down for fear of vandalisation.

The protesters, who barricaded all the four roads linking the Mubi roundabout, causing gridlock for several hours, also stopped business activities at the Jimeta Modern Market.

According to one of the riders, Saidu Abubakar, “early I the morning today (yesterday) one of the marshals stopped me while going about my normal activity and asked me to give him N100 or I should park my keke by the road side and I declined his request”.

According to the keke riders they have paid their annual dues and could not understand another due was being imposed on them.

“We pay N100 in the morning and by noon they ask you to pay another N100, more worrisome is that if you ride into Yola South from Yola North, you pay money, even when you can hardly differentiate between the two local government areas,” they alleged.

“Apart from this amount, we also pay N6,500 every year to the state government through the ministry of Transportation,” another rider said.

Another rider, Adamu Buba also accused the Jimeta Marshall established by Yola North Local Government Council of always forcing them to pay money, which sometimes they don’t issue receipt for.

“We blocked this roads because we leant that the governor will pass through this road today, this is only way the governor will not only hear our complain but also see us and help us address the matter once and for all.

When contacted, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Barrister Asiyale Ananze said the ministry introduced ICT registration for all tricycle owners and riders in the state to reduce security challenges involving tricycles, popularly known as Keke Napep.

“What we did was asking them to buy a form for N1000 and another N3000 which was paid to the Board of Internal Revenue, the N3000 is an annual fee for all tricycles in the state, it is not true that we collected N6,500,” Barrister Ananze said.

“Since we introduced the ICT registration of tricycles, we have been able to trace and recover items stolen from their passengers by the shila boys (criminals),” the Permanent Secretary added.

As at the time of filing this report, the office of the Jimeta Marshall is being destroyed by the aggrieved Keke riders.

When contacted, the Adamawa State Police Public Relations Officer, Sp Sulaiman Yahaya Ngroje said a team f policemen has been drafted to the scene of the incident to restore normalcy, adding there were  no casualties of any sort during  the protest.

Efforts to reach the Jimeta Marshall Commander failed as he was said to be holding a meeting with the chairman of Yola North Local Government Area.