Residents of Trademore Estate in Abuja staged a protest on Monday by closing the estate gates, in response to the planned demolition of structures by officials of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).
The protest comes after the estate was declared a disaster zone due to recent flash floods.
Last week, heavy rainfall resulted in flooding of houses and roads, leaving residents trapped in their homes.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency reported that over 116 houses were submerged in the estate.
While no casualties were reported, the residents association through the Chairman of the residents association, Mr Adewale Adenaike, expressed concern over the recurring nature of the flash floods every year
Adenaike, however, noted that alternative solutions could be explored as he debunked the claim that the area where the estate is situated was an illegal settlement.
He said “We have been reliably informed that the authorities are coming today to demolish 2000 houses and displaced over 40,000 Nigerians living in the area. They have described this place as an illegal settlement but during the last elections, we had three polling units here. So, they can come to collect our votes and request payment for electricity bills but we are illegal?
Years ago, a section of this estate was commissioned by the former Vice President, Namadi Sambo; high-ranking officers are staying in this area, and this is what the FCDA has termed as a disaster zone because they are unapproved. Where were Development Control, FCTA and FCDA when all this development was taking place in an area they termed as illegal?