PRESS STATEMENT: SPN CONDEMNS NIGERIAN ARMY’S MIDNIGHT DEMOLITION IN TUNGAMAJE, ABUJA
SOCIALIST PARTY OF NIGERIA (SPN), FCT-ABUJA CHAPTER
SPN CONDEMNS NIGERIAN ARMY’S MIDNIGHT DEMOLITION IN TUNGAMAJE, ABUJA
NIGERIANS DESERVE DECENT AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING!
The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN), FCT-Abuja chapter, strongly condemns the unlawful and inhumane actions of the Nigerian Army in Tungamaje, Abuja. The midnight demolition of homes on April 1, 2025, without prior notice and making provision for alternative accommodation for the victims and who have now been rendered homeless. Thousands of poor and struggling Nigerians, including the farmers and the artisans, are victims of this cruel and unlawful demolition orchestrated by the Nigerian Army and the ruling class. Without doubt, this means more suffering for everyone involved. This act is nothing short of state-backed terrorism against the people, deepening their suffering and violating their fundamental rights.
Residents of Tungamaje, a predominantly farming community and artisans, have lost not only their homes but also their means of livelihood, as the Army has seized and even leased out farmlands belonging to the people. Reports indicate that the military has continuously harassed and intimidated residents, despite a court order restraining them from carrying out such reckless and brutal action. Some victims reportedly died from shock and despair, while others have been forced to scatter their families, seeking shelter wherever possible. This act is totally inhumane and highly condemnable!
We call on Tunga Maje community people to unite and resist the violent demolition of their community, we also call on the Labour movement and civil society organization to initiate a campaign against the cruel demolitions of communities of working-class people. This demolition exercise is merely an attempt to steal the lands of poor people and hand it over to the rich private profiteers, who will end up building big edifices that will be unaffordable to the poor people.
In the Socialist Party of Nigeria, (SPN), we strongly believe that Nigerians deserve decent housing which must be accessible to Nigerians irrespective of their financial status; housing is a fundamental right. With the abundant resources that we possess as a country, there is no reason why any Nigerian should be homeless or live in slums.
The SPN also condemns the wider pattern of land grabbing and forced evictions perpetuated by the APC-led regime in the FCT. Under the administration of Nyesom Wike as Minister of the FCT, demolitions have increased, targeting the poor without providing any resettlement plans. These lands, rather than being used for genuine development, are being reallocated to government cronies and political allies of the ruling class.
The Tinubu-led APC government has shown complete disregard for the suffering of ordinary Nigerians. Instead of protecting the people, the state enables mass displacement, pushing the working class further into poverty and making them homeless despite paying a monthly poverty wage that cannot sustain them for a week. This regime has failed to address the housing crisis, refusing to regulate rent prices in Abuja, and in other parts of the country, allowing elites to own multiple vacant houses while thousands are homeless.
In the view of these, SPN’s demands an Immediate Stop to Demolitions. The Nigerian Army must stop its illegal destruction of homes in Tungamaje and other communities. We equally demand compensation for victims of demolished structures in Abuja and those whose homes and lands have been seized must be adequately compensated, including families who have lost loved ones due to the stress and shock of displacement.
We want to state that the land belongs to the people and so also in the case of Tungamaje, the people own the land not the military or corrupt politicians. We demand legal recognition of their land ownership.
Finally, we demand that government must regulate rent in Abuja to reflect the cost of living and the current minimum wage and allocate vacant houses to the homeless at subsidized rates. We call on all working-class Nigerians, farmers, and artisans to resist these anti-people policies. The struggle against land grabs, forced evictions, and capitalist exploitation must continue.
Join the SPN in the fight for a socialist future where land, resources, and power belong to the people and not to the grabbers and looters.
SIGNED.
DIMEJI MACAULAY
CHAIRPERSON, SPN-ABUJA
DANIEL AKANDE
SECRETARY, SPN-ABUJA