“Don’t Demolish Our Homes” – Gbagyi Residents To Kaduna Government

Residents of Gbagyi community in Kaduna State have called on the state government to rescind its decision of demolishing the settlement.

The Kaduna State Government through it development control agency, KASUPDA, issued a warning asking those who built on the land to vacate or face outright demolition.

According to Premium Times, some residents described the planned action as inhuman and asked that the government rescind its decision to demolish the area.

“This issue has been resolved since 2011 by Late Yakowa. I don’t know what interest the present government has on this area,” a resident, Boni Bakay, said.

“This land is even outside the state city centre but they are so interested that they want to evict us from our lands by all means and we shall reject it,” Mr. Bakay said.

Another resident, Hannatu Bayi, said she put all her life savings into building her house in the area.

“If I lose this house I lose everything. I know I bought the land from relevant authorities and I have my documents with me. But the El-Rufai people are not willing to listen, all they want is to finish us,” the widow said.

Ben Chuks, a grocery store owner in the area, said the government should have a rethink of its plan.

“We are not happy with the government’s stance on this and I tell you all of us will resist it, because we did not steal the land. We bought them with our money,” he said.

Some of the residents had on March 17 staged a protest against the planned the demolition.

The Kaduna State Government has, however, said it will recognize and protect every proven title to land.

Samuel Aruwan, Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s spokesperson, said the planned demolition was to restore the land back to the rightful owner which is the Kaduna Polytechnic.

“As the municipal authority in which all land in the state is vested upon, the government was again approached in 2015 by the Kaduna Polytechnic requesting action to preserve their title,” he said.