FCTA demolishes 150 houses in border town with Niger
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has so far demolished 150 houses in Dakwa, a town located along the FCT-Niger state boundary in the Bwari Area Council.
According to the Director, Department of Development Control, Muktar Galadima, a total of 200 illegal buildings were earlier marked for demolition in 2018 following its encroachment on plots allocated to the Abuja Investment Company Limited.
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Speaking during the exercise, Galadima said the enforcement has laid to rest the contention of who owns the plots even as he vowed to ensure that the rest of the illegal structures are removed.
He however, called on the Abuja Investment Company Limited to immediately commence development on the over 201 hectares of land in Dakwa, allocated for the establishment of the Abuja Automotive Village.
Explaining to journalists during the exercise, Galadima explained that whereas there is Dakwa in both the FCT and Niger state, the area in contention is that of the FCT.
“The Dakwa that is part of Niger state is opposite Madala Market. You see, there is this natural boundary -it’s just like a drainage; this is not that Dakwa. Everybody knows and believes that this Dakwa is in the FCT.
“This place is an area of about 201 hectares of land allocated to the Abuja Investment Company Limited for the purpose of Abuja Automotive Village. We are here to recover this land.
“Some time in 2018, we had a small operation here, we marked and even removed some of the illegal structures, but there was a pending boundary case between the FCTA and Niger state government.
“The then Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, Alhaji Umar Shuiabu intervened and arranged a meeting between the two governments. But, now that it has been proven that this place is clearly in the FCT, we are here to remove all the encroachments. We estimate over 200 structures and these are solid structures, not shanties,” he stated.
