A human rights organisation, Amnesty International, on Sunday, warned that the authorities of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) must end ongoing forced evictions and provide support to communities already rendered homeless.
The organisation said the recent forced evictions in and around the FCT rendered over 20,000 families homeless.
The Director, Amnesty International, Nigeria, Isa Sanusi
recalled that on November 6, the Federal Territory Administration’s Special Task team “Operation Sweep” demolished the Ruga community in Abuja, destroying hundreds of houses under the guise of “cleaning the city of all forms of nuisance and criminality.”
Sanusi in a statement called on the Nigerian authorities to discontinue the demolition of Ruga and other communities in Abuja and to declare a moratorium on mass forced evictions within and around Abuja until there are regulations in place to ensure that such forced evictions comply with safeguards that are required under international law.
According to him, the ongoing forceful eviction of residents, without adequate notice and consultations, without compensation or making alternative resettlement plans is making the poor pay the price of the government’s urban planning failures.
The impact of demolitions and evictions on affected communities is profound. Families are uprooted, children are deprived of education, and means of livelihood destroyed. The lack of proper notice and support during these evictions exacerbates the challenges faced by the urban poor, who are often least equipped to cope with sudden displacement.
“The social fabric of these communities is severely disrupted, leading to long-term negative effects on health, education, and overall well-being”, Sanusi said.
AI said the FCT authorities must halt forced evictions and provide alternative shelter to families already rendered homeless without the due process of law.
Using ‘insecurity’ as an excuse to forcefully evict the communities and hand over the land to private developers, AI said, “is an irony that must not be overlooked, as state-provided security is almost non-existent in such communities. Developing the Federal Capital Territory by excluding the poor and the vulnerable exacerbates Nigeria’s stunning inequality.”
Nigeria is a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and other international and regional human rights treaties, which require it to respect the right to adequate housing and to prevent and refrain from carrying out forced evictions”, AI emphasized.
