Residents of Shawari-5 ward in Maiduguri have called on Governor Babagana Zulum to stop the ongoing demolition of houses in the area for the airport expansion project.

Some residents said the demolition was sudden without adequate notification or compensation arrangements.

One of the residents, Yusuf Yunusa, said his N18 million building had been demolished without being notified.

He urged the state government to see how they could provide alternative shelter for his family before being compensated.

Another resident, Abdulateef Mohammed, whose house was marked but has not been demolished, appealed to the Borno government to temper justice with mercy.

“The demolition has thrown a lot of us into confusion because many of us don’t have a place to go,” he said.

Mustapha Garba, however, said not many people have title to the land, adding that most of them bought the property from a community leader (Bulama).

When contacted, Liman Mustapha, the general manager of the Borno State Urban Planning Development Board, said the essence of the demolition was to secure the land being set aside for the upgraded Muhammadu Buhari International Airport.

Mr Mustapha said there was no compensation for the owners of the demolished houses because they were occupying the government land illegally and had been notified since 2020.

“We have been following up to secure the land and stop illegal occupants from developing the property, but they ignored the notification and kept on building.

“The notice has been there for a long time with a series of sensitisation through television and radio programmes. We have had the master plan of this area since 1978, targeting 500 metres of space from the fence of the airport.

“We started with 200 metres, and in the next coming week, we will be heading for the 500 metres,” Mr Mustapha said.

Also speaking, Adamu Matunkolo, the acting regional manager of the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport Maiduguri, said the federal government’s upgrading of the airport had become necessary for its expansion.

“As you are aware, Muhammadu Buhari International Airport has been upgraded by the federal government to start international operations, and there are requirements we have to meet. If we don’t meet them, the target of the federal government can’t be held.

“We sympathise with the people who don’t want to obey this order. We have our plan, and our plan is that the area slated for demolition is a buffer zone,” Mr Matunkolo said. 

(NAN)