Developer cries out over demolition as FHA defends action

The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has insisted it acted within its constitutional mandate in a recent demolition of a property in Gwarinpa II Estate, Abuja, refuting claims that it illegally used armed police officers despite a pending court case. The property owner, Hajiya Sadiya of Tolwu Integrated Properties Ltd., alleged that she was beaten, dragged, and injured by police officers deployed alongside FHA staff when they attempted to demolish the property fence on Friday, around noon. She said she was pregnant at the time. “The FHA team came to destroy our fences without any court order. I rushed to the site with my lawyer, but they showed no enforcement documents,” she said. She added that when she tried to prevent the bulldozer from entering the site, four officers wrestled her to the ground, tore her headgear, and deployed tear gas. She also recounted her long engagement with FHA, including acquiring the land in 2012, receiving a Letter of Consent in 2013, and obtaining approvals for change of purpose and development plans, yet facing alleged delays in project approvals. FHA spokesman Kenneth Chigelu defended the authority’s actions, stating that residents of Gwarinpa, including Sadiya, had encroached beyond allocated land boundaries. “We informed her, and she obtained an ex parte court order, which we initially obeyed but later challenged and had vacated. Despite the matter being in court, she continued developing the land,” Chigelu said. On allegations of assault, Chigelu claimed, “Hajiya Sadiya was the aggressor and attempted to attack a top FHA official, prompting the police to restrain her.”

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