Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has criticised what it called a rash of dehumanizing, degrading and insensitive demolitions of houses by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) at FESTAC Town, Lagos.

The rights group said the actions contradicted the much publicised housing agenda of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led administration.

HURIWA stated that although there were discordant tunes on the validity of the Certificate of Occupancy of those houses demolished, the group said it was unimaginable that an administration with a lot of emphasis on mass housing would, at the same time, be seen implementing extensive demolitions of houses even without permitting the residents to retrieve all their property on the day of commencement of the demolition before executing the order of FHA.

HURIWA, which argued that actions of government towards the citizens must, of legal necessity, be humane and should wear a human face, stated that the failure of government to allow sufficient time for house owners to retrieve their property before demolition, amounted to cruel and dehumanizing treatment which offends the constitution as enshrined in chapter 4.

“The universal responsibilities which the government has to provide to its citizens include: defending the country from invasion or attacks by foreign nations or states; defending the people against natural calamities such as droughts, floods, earthquakes, avalanches and contagious diseases; protecting human rights; safeguarding freedoms such as life, liberty and property; facilitating the means to solve disputes among individuals and the government by using the justice system; contributing to the growth and development of the society.

The government ensures that it fulfills these responsibilities to its citizens exclusively by itself. In the demolitions carried out in Abule Odo, in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State by FHA, the federal government failed to safeguard the property of citizens and treated the citizens with cruelty just as their human dignity was debased and wantonly violated by the actions of the armed security operatives that accompanied those who executed the demolition exercises,” the association said.

HURIWA stated that from the groundswell of emotions that poured out during the periods of demolitions by the victims, what has emerged is that the federal government, through its agency, FHA, crudely treated citizens with no compassion.

HURIWA recalled that one of the landlords who pleaded anonymity, was seen picking iron rods in front of his house, said: “My property was completely demolished; as you can see, this one I’m living in was partially demolished. Everywhere in the area, houses are being pulled down.”

Besides, HURIWA recalled that a relation of one of the Landlords, Daniel Mbere, who was also seen picking aluminum roofing sheets and other items from his brother’s building said: “We begged people to help us keep our belongings in their houses. Most of our belongings are buried under the rubble. I don’t know what to do next. “They didn’t give us a timeline to leave our buildings. I came back from the office and saw them demolishing our building and they fired teargas at us. We begged them to allow us to remove our property but they refused.”

Also, the Rights group recalled that a member of Maranatha Prayer Ministry who was seen gathering what was left from the demolished church building, said: “I am here to pull out the things. The story of this place is really confusing and I can’t say much.

HURIWA stated that the media quoted Jonathan Eze, who is a resident of one of the buildings partially demolished in Stone Water Estate, as lamenting thus:: “Right now, for those of us that escaped the total demolition, we are not feeling safe sleeping in our houses because the compounds are without fences or gates. People whose houses were not totally demolished or have not been demolished are afraid that the agency may come back to pull down their buildings, so the tenants are looking for other areas to relocate to.

“I just renewed my rent three months ago and I cannot tell my landlady to refund me, and I cannot stay until the rent expires because of what happened to other people.”

“The people that escaped the demolition are those who built their houses years before the government asked the people to stop developing. So, if the people had listened to the government when they were asked to stop building, this wouldn’t have happened.

HURIWA observed that the action of the FHA and the Ministry of Housing stand in sharp contrast to the commitment made in the blueprint of the President Tinubu. HURIWA reminded the Minister of Housing that he quoted the President as follows: “I sincerely believe that under the leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Nigerian housing and urban landscape will witness a historic turnaround. As a Ministry, we are excited because Mr. President understands the magnitude of the housing challenge that the country faces, he has outlined a bold vision towards fixing it in ways never done before and is willing to provide the political will to back it up.”

The Minister explained that the N100 billion Supplementary budget was only part of broad Financing Plan that would involve a blend of budgetary allocations, Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), housing construction finance from the federal housing agencies, including the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and Federal Housing Authority (FHA) towards delivering the Renewed Hope Agenda for Housing and Urban Development.

HURIWA quoted the hHousing

Minister, Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, as stating what his ministry would do as follows: “The provision of the N100 billion in the 2023 Supplementary Budget gives us the leverage to kick-start Phase 1 of our nationwide Renewed Hope Housing Projects and Slum Upgrading Programme before year end. “This reflects the urgency that Mr. Presidents accords to providing quality housing to all Nigerians,” he said.

The Housing and Urban Development Minister had also boasted that the Renewed Hope Cities would have inclusivity at their core. Phase 1 of the project aims to deliver 34,500 housing units in a mix of 1, 2-, and 3-bedroom affordable bungalows in Nigeria’s thirty (30) states; multi-level flats to cater to low-medium income earners and terrace and detached bungalows and duplexes for the high-income earners in select state capitals including Lagos, Kano, Borno, Nasarawa, Rivers, Enugu, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

HURIWA therefore condemned the sporadic, hasty and inhumane manner and speed applied by the FHA to massively render thousands of Nigerian citizens homeless without even exercising the faintest discretion of permitting the home owners and resident the humane treatment of completely retrieving their property before the demolition which was a violation of section 14(2) (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which provides that the security and welfare of the citizens and their property is the primary duty of government. “HURIWA is urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to pay compensation to those home owners and residents whose properties were damaged,” the group said.

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