Amnesty International, AI, has appealed to Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state not to go ahead with the proposed demolition of over 1,000 houses at Gbagyi Villa in Kaduna state.

The human rights group said an estimated 5,000 people would be left homeless if the state government were to go ahead with the plan.

In a statement, AI said information at its disposal shows that the government has no alternative arrangement for residents for the houses earmarked for demolition.

“The Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority,KASUPDA, has issued a 21-day demolition notices to some residents of Gbagyi Villa, Kaduna state, on four occasions between 4 November 2015 and 16 March 2016,” the statement read.

It went further, “Amnesty International has seen these notices and some of the houses marked X. Residents say they have not been consulted about the planned demolition, and no alternative housing or compensation has been offered.”

The group said that residents of the area had initiated a court case on 10 March and obtained an injunction against the planned demolition, but despite the ongoing court case, the governor visited the community on 21 July and publicly said that houses will be demolished even before the conclusion of the court case.

“Each of the houses marked for demolition has an average of five residents. Therefore, should the demolitions go ahead, at least five thousand people (including, men, women and children) will be left homeless and vulnerable to a range of human rights violations,” AI stated.

It added that “Many of the residents, who are either the original farmland owners or those who bought land from its original owners, and their tenants, do not have the demanded title documents, as these are difficult and costly to obtain.”

Governor El-Rufai said the buildings had encroached on the land belonging to the Kaduna State Polytechnic, and built without title documents and building permits.