Residents of an indigenous settlement,? situated along the Airport road, Gosa, has dragged the Minster of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Sen. Bala Mohammed and the Nigeria Police to court for abuse of their fundamental human rights and forceful ejection of the indigenes from their homes.
The Plaintiff representing the community includes Josiah Micah, Adamu Yakwo, Rev. Bako Auta and Zephaniah Jezhi.
?In a chat with journalists, Counsel to the Plaintiff, Barr. Baba Panya Musa said that the authority of FCT has violated the fundamental human rights of the indigenes of Gosa village, by demolishing their houses without duly compensating or relocating them.
Musa, who described the case as a public interest litigation, said that the villagers, most of whom were presently homeless because of the demolition carried out by FCDA, are seeking for the enforcement of their fundamental human rights according to Section 43 and 44 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, chapter 4, which says that if government must take over a private property, there must be first of all a prompt payment of compensation and resettlement.
?“What is happening is great injustice, not just to the Gosa people, but to every indigenous inhabitant and community in Abuja yet to be compensated or resettled by the government.? These indigenes are living in daily fear and intimidation in the midst of their communities and their homes, some of them have land bacons in their sitting rooms, which shows that their residential buildings now belong to somebody else.
“Their houses and land are being sold to strangers for millions of Naira and they have not been compensated a kobo and they are demolishing their houses.? This is a grave injustice and it is a time bomb kicking here.? It is a very serious issue.? What is happening in the Niger Delta will one day be a small thing here, because the land has been taken away from Abuja original indigenes.? Whatever is decided here in the court on this case will affect every indigenous community in Abuja,” he said.
Zephaniah Jezhi, one of the plaintiff, and also the youth Chairman of the community said that the villagers decided to take the matter to court because of the step taken by the authority of FCT to forcefully eject them from their ancestral land and lamented that most of their houses have been demolished without the government of FCT duly compensating them.
The case was adjourned to 14 May, 2012, by Justice A. O. Ataluku, who said that every body concern in the case must be present, since the matter is a very sensitive one.