By TAIYE AGBAJE

The Centre For Human Rights And Advocacy In Africa Network has condemned the demolition of Margaret Lawrence University Teaching Hospital (MLUTH), by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

The world-class hospital, which was situated inside the high-brow River Park Estate Abuja, was demolished on Saturday.

The group, in a statement co-signed by its Executive Director, Mr. Henry Abba, and Director of Programmes, Michael Ikwebe, on Sunday in Abuja, described the demolition as “high handed, insensitive, barbaric and unacceptable.”

It alleged that information at its disposal suggested that no reason was advanced by the FCTA for the action.

It expressed shock that the demolition of the hospital could take place in a contemporary Nigeria, and wondered what the FCTA aimed at in the high-value estate.

“The whole incident has brought about panic in the estate.

“At this point, nobody knows what is going on because what was said in the report of the FCT Minister was that all undeveloped portion is what they want to re-possess.

“What we have in this instance is a project that has been commissioned for over a year and has been actively under development for the past one year.

“We learnt on good authority that without any prior notice, the FCTA came in and demolished the structure.

“In fact, they took the whole day to even do what they were doing there,” the group stated.

It said that the action of the FCTA is highly condemnable, unacceptable and could best be described as “one demolition done in bad faith.”

According to the group, the demolition exercise was ill-timed.

It alleged that the demolition was part of the FCTA’s policy to claim portions of land within the estate.

“We are under siege in this country, and nobody seems to be talking.

“It is legally and morally wrong for the FCTA to come into an estate to demolish a University Teaching Hospital Cancer Center, without prior notice, and on a Saturday.

“Saturday’s exercise came on the heels of 35 structures that have been demolished in the last three days within the estate on the directive of the Ministerial Taskforce set up by the FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike,” it stated.

The group alleged that what was going on in the estate “is a policy of land grabbing disguised as urban development.”

“We strongly condemn the continued demolition of structures in River Park Estate, Abuja, by the FCTA, under the watch of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

“When has a project under construction become an undeveloped space in the estate?” the group queried.

It, therefore, appealed to Wike to call the ministerial taskforce to order, saying that the committee “is going outside the report approved by the minister.” (NAN)