Property owners in Ifa Ikot Okpon, a suburb of Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital have cried out over the demolition of their houses saying they have been rendered homeless without any compensation.
They said their houses were demolished without any prior notice with their personal belongings looted during the exercise.
Domingo Thomas Ekot, a 75-year-old retiree said his houses consisting of many flats were affected by the demolition exercise and demanded that he should be paid “reasonable amount of money” by the state government to enable him resettle himself and family.
“I am 75 years old and I erected three flats for rent as my source of income.
“I don’t know how much compensation will be paid to me that will be enough for the loss I have suffered, ” he lamented.
Speaking also at the palace of the village head, Eteidung Uwem Tom Udoh, another property owner, Kokoette Sunday Edak lamented that he has no place to live since his apartment was demolished.
“I have been rendered homeless. The government we voted for has made us to be looking around for where to live.,” he said.
Reacting to the claims that the buildings were elected on government acquired land, the village head , Uwem Tom Udoh though the land may have been acquired by the government, there was neither a notice given to his community nor compensation paid before the demotion.
“This is an unfortunate situation. Even when a landlord wants to eject a tenant from his property, he usually gives notice before doing so. In this case, I did not get any notice, ” he said.
According to him, more than 50 houses have been demolished adding that since he became the village head in 2013, he has not seen any document purporting to show that the community land had been acquired.
Appealing to the people not to take the laws into their hands, he said Governor might not be aware of what has befallen his community.
“Don’t take the laws into your hand. I urge you to maintain decorum. I believe the governor will see to our calamity and will do something about it.”
He also said there has been no evidence of any compensation being paid to the community by the state government.
The village head of Ifa who also appealed to the state government to ensure that adequate compensation is paid to those affected by the demotion added that the governor might not be in the know about the exercise.
Speaking during the recent ministerial briefing, the commissioner for Lands, Iniobong Ekong announced that his ministry had recovered land from illegal property developers who had encroached on government’s land.