Daud Olatunji
Families of serving and deceased police officers residing at the Kontagora Road quarters in Gawon Nama, Sokoto State, on Sunday protested the demolition of their homes, alleging that the exercise was carried out without due notice.
The protesters, mostly wives and children of police officers, said a bulldozer accompanied by personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps arrived at the premises in the early hours of Sunday and began pulling down structures, including the perimeter fence.
They subsequently took to the streets with placards, calling on the Inspector-General of Police, Rilwan Tunde Disu, and other relevant authorities to intervene.
One of the protesters, Safiya Halliru, widow of the late Assistant Commissioner of Police, Halliru Gwarzo, said the residents were shocked when they heard unusual noise around the quarters.
“On coming out of our houses, we saw a bulldozer, accompanied by Civil Defence personnel, demolishing our perimeter fence,” she said.
According to her, most of the police officers were not at home at the time of the demolition as some were on duty while others had gone to the mosque for dawn prayers.
Halliru said some of the families had occupied the quarters for more than 20 years, insisting that the residents ought to have been formally notified before any demolition or redevelopment exercise.
She appealed to the police authorities to intervene, particularly because some of the affected families belonged to officers who had died in active service.
“Even if the houses are to be sold, we deserve to be contacted before taking any action,” she said.
Another resident, Hadiza Abdulrazak-Gulma, said the dispute over the property had been before the court for about two years.
She said the residents had received a court notice indicating that proceedings in the matter were scheduled to begin on Tuesday, September 8.
“We received a court notice that the court will commence hearing on Tuesday. Unfortunately, we woke up to this unfortunate incident even before the court proceedings began,” she said.
Abdulrazak-Gulma urged the Inspector-General of Police to intervene, saying the families of police officers who had sacrificed their lives and careers in the service of the country should not be subjected to such treatment.
Checks at the scene indicated that several of the affected houses were occupied by serving senior police officers, including a Commissioner of Police.
The residents also questioned why police officers in Sokoto had allegedly not been granted Certificates of Occupancy for the quarters when, according to them, similar arrangements had been made for their colleagues in some other states.
When contacted, the Sokoto State Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Nasiru Dantsoho, said he was unaware of the demolition and declined further comment.
The circumstances surrounding the demolition remained unclear as of Sunday evening, while the affected families continued to call for intervention ahead of the scheduled court proceedings.
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