Wike pledges to continue Abuja demolitions despite protests

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said his administration will not be deterred by blackmail from civil society organisations and activists, calling for a cessation of demolition exercises in the city.

The minister made the statement following a visit to the demolished Ruga settlement alongside heads of security agencies in the FCT, following a security council meeting on Sunday evening.

The PUNCH reports that some of the settlers, joined by human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, and controversial social media critic, Vincent Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, on Friday, protested the demolition carried out by the Department of Development Control, calling for the intervention of President Bola Tinubu.

Wike, however, said the administration was only interested in protecting lives and property in the FCT and ensuring that Abuja was one of the best cities in the world.

“I must also say that no amount of blackmail, no amount of intimidation, no amount of abuses; we must go around to do our jobs.

“It doesn’t matter who they go and hire, they call them civil society or not civil society, we are not interested in that.

“Our interest is to protect lives and property, to safeguard Abuja so that it will be one of the best cities in the world,” he said. Punch