THE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has announced the retrieval of 7,000 out of the 11,000 hectares of land initially allocated to the University of Abuja.
Wike announced this on Monday, June 30, while commissioning the newly constructed access roads in the Giri District of the nation’s capital.
He accused the university of “land grabbing” and fencing several hectares of land without proper approval or documentation.
“The University on its own grabbed 11,000 hectares. I said that would not happen. No document, nothing. You see them fencing everywhere, and before you know it, they will have gone to sell our land,” Wike explained.
Wike said the land reclaimed from the university would be used for developmental purposes.
Assuring the FCT residents of his administration’s commitment to infrastructural development in Giri and its environs, the minister announced that internal road construction in the district would begin soon, with plans already in motion by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).
“Having created this access road, we have told the Executive Secretary of FCDA and other relevant agencies to start working on the details of how we are going to do the roads within the district. So, be assured that maybe next year, it will be a different thing,” he said.
The minister added that the EFCC Academy, one of the major institutions in the area, was expected to commence operations immediately following the completion of the road.
“They will start the academy immediately because now they have access roads that they can move in their equipment and develop this. And when this comes, you see that other people will also move in and develop their own area.
“Most of the problems we’re having here is that sometimes when you allocate land, there are no facilities, no infrastructure, and people are not encouraged. So, we will do everything we can to see that basic infrastructure is being provided,” he said.
The ICIR reports that the vast land of the university has been fenced, with many residents of the city encroaching on it.
Currently, a community with about a thousand houses is within the university.
Surrounded by huge rocks, much of the institution’s land is used for farming by locals and other residents in the area.
The headquarters of the Nigerian Army faces the university across the highway.
The university runs some of its remedial and other programmes at its temporary site in Gwagwalada, a major satellite town in the FCT.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.