In a fresh announcement, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has also announced their plans to proceed with the demolition of over 100 buildings which were constructed on waterways at Dutse Makaranta, which is a populated suburb in Bwari Area Council.
The Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection, and Enforcement, Mr. Ikharo Attah had also led some of their demolition teams to the area on Wednesday.
Attah had mentioned that the demolition became quite necessary which came, following the failure to heed all legal warnings by residents over the valid devastating forecast on the flooding disaster in Abuja. He said it would be very irresponsible for any government to wait for residents who were not willing to obey extant directives.
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According to him, the FCT Administration could no longer wait for unwilling residents to comply with early warnings to save lives after the destructive flooding that occurred in the community four days ago.
However, he expressed utmost disgust that occupiers and owners of the buildings on waterways in the community had deliberately refused to heed warnings. He said that it was an act of God that the heavy flooding that swept through the area four days ago did not leave any record of death, sparing the government of any careless social media backlash. Attah explained that the owners and occupiers of the buildings on the waterways had been warned and asked to leave the area from the onset but refused to comply, hence the forceful ejection.
He said he was particularly bitter that some of the doomed buildings were a private school, and churches, where innocent children, wards, and worshippers would have been swept away, had the flooding occurred on working days or even during the religious feast.
“We are commencing a citywide operation against buildings sitting on water plains and riverbeds, here in Dutse Makaranta.
“You could see heavy flooding, we thank God the rain fell on Sunday afternoon at about 1 pm and 2pm when many had left the church and school was closed.
“The water got to the window levels and members fled. The casualties here would have been extremely massive.
“Most persons in this area were out, only two men were on their beds when the water came through the walls to one of the buildings, and it fell on the bed of one man and the man fled his house and packed everything quickly.
“We hope that this will send a strong message to all those who have been on water plains and corridors.”
Attah said that the FCTA had marked the buildings from the foundation level, and they had been warned to leave the area “because it is a disaster zone’’.