Governor of Anambra state, Charles Soludo has ordered the demolition of the newly constructed house of a human rights activist and businessman, Osita Obi.
Daily Post reports that Anambra state government demolished the building on Wednesday, December 7th, 2022.
The duplex was constructed close to the abandoned government house in the Executive Business District area of Awka, the state capital.
Obi raised the alarm while briefing journalists as he accused the government of not informing him of its intended destruction of his house so he could move out some properties and documents.
He said: “My pain is not that the house was demolished, after all, government once told us that the area had been acquired by it and that the houses built there will be demolished.
“My pain is that when they wanted to demolish it, they didn’t as little as notify us so that we can remove some useful items in the house. My wife has been in tears since after the demolition. She has been crying ceaselessly.
“I have heard that government has said it will pay us compensation as it was captured in the 2023 Appropriation Bill, but if they notified us, it would have helped us bear the shock of the demolition.
“That house was built by my wife, even one Kobo of mine did not go into it. My wife is a retiree from a federal government agency, and she used her life saving and retirement fund to buy the land and also construct the building. The land was very legally acquired, and even my building plan was approved by government.
“Now they are telling me they will pay compensation, do they want to kill my wife so that I will use the money they will pay me to bury her?”
The Awka Capital Territory Development Agency reportedly reached out to the activist after the incident and assured him of adequate compensation.
