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Don’t demolish 1,000 houses, AI begs Gov El-Rufai

Amnesty International (AI) has called for an urgent international action to stop the Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai from demolishing more than 1,000 houses at Gbagyi Villa, Kaduna State, North West Nigeria.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Amnesty International stated that el-Rufai threatened to demolish houses in Gbagyi Villa. At least 1,000 houses have been marked with an X for demolition. Thousands risk being forcibly evicted.

”The Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA) has issued 21-day demolition notices to some residents of Gbagyi Villa, Kaduna State, on four occasions between 4 November 2015 and 16 March 2016. Amnesty International has seen these notices and some of the houses marked X. Residents say they have not been consulted about the planned demolition, and no alternative housing or compensation has been offered. The residents initiated a court case on 10 March and obtained an injunction against the planned demolition. Despite the ongoing court case, the Governor of Kaduna State visited the community on 21 July and publicly said that houses which have allegedly encroached on the land belonging to the Kaduna State Polytechnic, and built without title documents and building permits, will be demolished even before the conclusion of the court case.

”Each of the houses marked for demolition has an average of five residents. Therefore, should the demolitions go ahead, at least five thousand people (including, men, women and children) will be left homeless and vulnerable to a range of human rights violations. Many of the residents, who are either the original farmland owners or those who bought land from its original owners, and their tenants, do not have the demanded title documents, as these are difficult and costly to obtain. However, many have legally obtained building permits or have made payments for obtaining the same. Despite this, their houses have been marked for demolition.

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