Elrufai demolishes property of a political opponent

In the early hours of Tuesday, February 20, 2018, a bulldozer powered its way into No 11 Sambo Close in the Kaduna metropolis. Before long, the property occupying that address had been reduced to rubble. The demolished property belongs to Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi who sat in a meeting where the decision to suspend Governor Nasir Elrufai from the APC was arrived at this week.

“Mallam Elrufai personally drove a bulldozer accompanied by armored tanks to destroy my house at 11B Sambo Road. This is a new low and fighting dirty with such low level of pettiness is indeed unprecedented in Kaduna State”, Hunkuyi who represents Kaduna North in the senate, shared on Twitter.

Hunkuyi added that; “It is on record that few months back, Mallam Elrufai marked another property of mine in Hunkuyi town for demolition but residents of the area prevented the officials from demolishing it. Today he came well prepared with military men to destroy my house at Sambo Road.

This is also the same way Mallam Elrufai destroyed the house of the APC deputy national chairman northwest, Alhaji Inuwa Abdulkadir months back, which tells you that the Governor is reckless, petty and can’t stand political pressure without resorting to being a ruthless dictator”.

Political vendetta?

However, Pulse has been able to ascertain that Elrufai didn’t “personally drive a bulldozer” to bring down the senator’s house as Hunkuyi had claimed.

The Governor was already in Adamawa, where he is special guest of honour at an anti-corruption summit, when the building came crashing down.

Here is Senator Hunkuyi’s tweet below

In the early hours of today, the @GovKaduna Mallam @elrufai personally drove a bulldozer accompanied by armored tanks to destroy my house at 11B Sambo Road. This is a new low and fighting dirty with such low level of pettiness is indeed unprecedented in Kaduna State.

There are some pundits who believe that the demolition of the senator’s home has everything to do with the political in-fighting going on in Kaduna State.

Suspension

On Sunday, February 18, 2018, a faction of the APC headed by Hunkuyi (Restoration group), suspended Elrufai from the party for “anti-human and anti-party” activities.

Another faction of the APC in Kaduna—called the Akida faction—would go on to nullify the suspension of the Governor soon after.

The Akida faction of the APC in Kaduna State is loyal to Elrufai.

Some of the political bigwigs who attended the factional meeting where Elrufai’s fate was sealed were “an aspirant during the party’s governorship primaries in 2015, Isa Ashiru; Chief of Staff to Senate President, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed; owner of Kaduna-based Liberty FM radio, Dr. Tijjani Ramalan; Senator representing Kaduna Central, Senator Shehu Sani; and his counterpart from the Northern Senatorial District, Hunkuyi”, Punch had reported.

The demolished property also doubles as office of the APC faction which suspended Elrufai. It was in that building that Elrufai was pronounced suspended.

‘Tyranny’

During plenary on Tuesday, Senator Shehu Sani who is a staunch critic of Elrufai and who has done his best to maintain a frosty relationship with the Governor, cited order 43 to bring up the demolition of Hunkuyi’s residence before lawmakers.

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu thereafter condemned the demolition in its entirety.

“Democracy does not come with this type of tyranny and impunity. I condemn this act and hope it doesn’t happen again. There must not be abuse of power and office. There’s a limit to the patience of our people. I sympathize with the senator who lost his building”, Ekweremadu said.

Kaduna responds

Pulse reached out to Elrufai for a reaction, but phone calls repeatedly placed to his mobile went unanswered. Text messages sent to the Governor were also not replied hours before this story was put together.

Samuel Aruwan who is spokesperson of the Governor, didn’t pick up his phone, respond to text messages or call back, either.

However, in a statement made available to Pulse, the Kaduna State government denied that the demolition of Hunkuyi’s house had a political undertone

The government said the demolished property violated the urban planning laws of Kaduna.

“The Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Agency (KASUPDA) is currently undertaking operations across Kaduna metropolis in compliance with its mandate. In partnership with sister agencies, KASUPDA is clearing illegal structures, tackling street hawking and restoring order across Kaduna.

“This morning, a building on 11B Sambo Close was removed for flagrant violations of land use and non-payment of ground rent since 2010. This illegal violation of use had begun to distress neighbours who were being forced to endure an influx of thugs and blockage of the road”, the statement read in part.

The Kaduna State government also said it had issued a revocation notice concerning the Hunkuyi property.

“The Kaduna Geographic Information Service (KADGIS) issued a revocation notice of statutory right of occupancy that covers 11B Sambo Close in the Ungwam Rimi area. The appropriate notice of revocation was delivered at 28 Inuwa Wada Road, the registered address of the company that held the title to the property. The notice was also delivered to the building in question, and sent by post to the registered address of the previous title holder

“The land has now been allocated to KASUPDA for the purpose of developing and maintaining a public park that will provide a green area and a serene place for recreation in that residential neighbourhood.

“Since 2016, the government has been taking action on various land related matters, including revoking all undeveloped land titles in the State and directed that all abandoned buildings be developed within three months of the notice.

“The Kaduna Geographic Information System (KADGIS) as the government agency charged with ultimate responsibility on land matters in Kaduna State, calls for the utmost cooperation by the public with our agencies”.

Reputation

It wouldn’t be the first time an Elrufai demolition exercise has stirred plenty of controversy. As minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from 2003 to 2007, Elrufai was accused of highhandedness and vindictiveness as a wave of demolitions swept through Abuja.

Elrufai said his demolitions were aimed at maintaining the Abuja masterplan as mandated by then President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Credit: Pulse