Protests Or Not, Demolition Will Continue – Wike

• To meet with representatives of demolished settlements

BY EDMOND ODOK – Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has vowed that no amount of protest can stop the bid to sanitise the nation’s capital.

The Minister spoke against the backdrop of his directive that led to the demolition of the Ruga settlement along Airport Road, Lugbe which ultimately triggered outrage among the indigenous Gbagyi people and other residents of the area.

Wike, who was at the demolished settlement late Sunday accompanied by top security chiefs in the territory, described the site visit as an on-the-spot assessment of the situation, warning that there was no going back in the demolition exercise to rid the nation’s capital of bad eggs.

He said having identified the location as a ‘security threat’, no government would allow such “illegal settlement” to continue existing given frequent reports of the danger it poses, especially to the rail corridor within the territory.

The FCT Minister informed the displaced residents that no amount of blackmail or protest would stop the clearing exercise, even as he requested their Spokesperson to come along five other representatives to the FCTA Secretariat for dialogue on the way forward and what would be done for them.

Speaking earlier, the Spokesperson of those affected by the demolition exercise, Abba Garu, had told the Minister that they had been living in the area for over 35 years, noting that about 10,000 people were affected by the exercise with all their property and business destroyed.

He pleaded with the Minister to provide an alternative for them, adding that they were ready to move to another place as an option rather than being left to live as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) for the rest of their lives in their ancestral land.

Forefront News recalled that protesters, led by lawyer and Human Rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, had recently hit the streets accusing the FCT Task Force, known as “Operation Sweep,” of adopting heavy-handed tactics in its engagement with the distraught residents.

Adeyanju condemned the demolition, highlighting that homes were burned and property worth millions was destroyed.

According to him; “There is no justification for this demolition. We appeal to President Bola Tinubu to consider the plight of the displaced residents, who are barely surviving”.