Indigenous people of Dagbalo community in Apo area of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) have said the government has not compensated them for land and houses wrongfully demolished despite the funds appropriated for the FCT administration.
The indigenes almost staged a protest but spoke with journalists instead, expressing their grievances, saying that the affected indigenes have been living in penury.
Leader of Dagbalo community, Rev. Danjuma Tanko on behalf of the indigenes, said that the absence of FCT Assembly has greatly encouraged the wings of corruption in the FCDA.
He further called on President Mohammadu Buhari to consider Abuja natives in sensitive positions of his cabinet who knows and understands names of villages and the direct needs other than those who will only blow trumpet, beat drums in their offices and tabulate peoples land to themselves, families and seedlings.
“I want Nigerians and the world to know that this day, no compensation has ever been paid nor any fund by government or any authority in that capacity to the original inhabitants. All efforts despite correspondence to replace our father’s houses were not honoured and 2004 during President Obasanjo, there was needed to expand the city, roads were constructed from Gudu village to Apo village.
“The community called Akpajenya was partly affected by the road for which our houses were affected and up till now no compensation has been paid even though assessment were made with nos GU/05/73 Danjuma Tanko, GU/05/74/David Danjuma, GU/06/Mathias Danjuma, among others names that were omitted by the FCDA officials.
“After the then minister of FCT and now Governor Mallam Nasir el-Rufai left office, the responsibilities vested on the Director Development Control the former Yahaya Yusuf and 2006 and the same marks and nos were used for resettlement of Garki community, Akpajenya and Apo community and Dagbalo community was not mentioned neither was merged with Akpajenya community,” he said.
He said that he intend to clear issues before Nigerians to be able to participate and understand why the original inhabitants are against the policies and activities perpetuated by the officials of the FCDA and FCTA.
“90 percent of names that appeared on the resettlement exercise carried out by the FCDA were unknown names to the communities while the people of Garki has no more lands to expand building or manage the imbalance offer, Dagbalo was worst hit by the direct evil of forceful demolition when at the woke up in the morning of 30th July, 2013 only to be surrounded with armed soldiers led by the FCDA officials and wiped out the entire Dagbalo community without showing any sympathy to our people.
“All efforts made by our community to stop the inhuman act proved abortive and even as we watched those beats journalists seized tapes and smashed them on the ground,” he said.
He insisted that his people has been subjected to untold hardship and all manner of unearthed treatment by the past FCT administration and therefore called on President and the Senate and the House of Representatives to intervene.