The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has demolished sections of Citiscape Villa, a high-end estate in the Guzape District of Abuja, over serious building infractions and unauthorized construction on designated waterways.
The demolition exercise, which took place on Monday, was led by the Coordinator of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, Felix Obuah. He revealed that the estate developer illegally converted waterways and green spaces into plots and sold them to unsuspecting buyers, in direct violation of the building approval granted.
Obuah stated, “The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, will not tolerate any attempt to sabotage the developmental plans of the city.” He further warned that any government official found complicit in these illegal activities would face disciplinary action in line with civil service rules.
Also commenting, the Director of the Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, noted that the developer had ignored multiple stop-work notices issued by the authorities. He said the enforcement team has now intensified monitoring efforts to prevent further breaches by developers across the city.
The developer and owner of Citiscape Villa, Kadiri Ogbaidi, acknowledged that the estate violated the approved plans issued by the Department of Development Control. He, however, attributed some of the infractions to estate subscribers who constructed structures on green areas.
Ogbaidi stated, “This is an estate with a general approval, but there have been several infractions, mostly by subscribers. As the developer, we accept responsibility. We are prepared to remove all identified violations as directed by the authorities, and we will do so at our own expense.”
He appealed to the FCTA for a grace period of two weeks to carry out the removal themselves, saying, “We will begin the demolition ourselves. We’ve always complied with the law and have never had issues with the authorities before.”
ADEOLA KUNLE
