On Friday, residents of Ruga, a community on Airport Road in Abuja, demonstrated against FCT Minister Nyesom Wike’s demolition of their homes.
According to reports, Wike had previously directed a task force known as “Operation Sweep” to destroy Ruga and other neighborhoods in the nation’s capital in order to rid the area of alleged annoyances and illegal activity.
Leading the protest were well-known attorney and activist Deji Adeyanju and Vincent Martins Otse, also known as VeryDarkMark, who claimed the destruction was done maliciously.
Adeyanju voiced his worries, pointing out that the task force destroyed property valued at millions of naira and set fire to numerous homes.
He asked President Bola Tinubu to take into account the predicament of the impoverished who had been forced to flee their homes in Borno and other northern states as a result of regional insecurity.
Adeyanju stated: “There is no justification for this demolition. We are using this medium to appeal to the president to consider the plight of the displaced residents, who are barely surviving.
“Most of the residents here were forced out of their homes in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe due to insecurity.
“Most of them are artisans trying to make a living. These demolitions are excessive, and Mr President needs to act to prevent further harassment of the people.
“We are sounding a warning to those in government that peace is only achievable if the poor are allowed to live peacefully. When the poor cannot sleep, it affects everyone.
“Tinubu should call Wike to order and stop him from demolishing people’s homes and reallocating the land to rich people.
“There is no justification for demolishing these homes and allocating them to the rich. There is no overriding public interest here because the community is far from the main road.”
On his part, Otse stated: “This is strange. The repercussions of this will have a heavy toll on Abuja. This area that has been demolished is not near the main road. These people have been rendered homeless amid the ongoing hardship in the country.
“They are evicting these people without compensating them. It is sad that the elite think the poor are not part of society.”
