By Elizabeth Godwin
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared that all shanties in Abuja are illegal and will be demolished, insisting that poverty cannot be used as an excuse to occupy unlawful structures.
Speaking during a live media chat on Monday, Wike said shanties not only deface the capital city but also serve as hideouts for criminals involved in kidnapping, robbery, and “one-chance” activities.
“When you say shanties, are shanties legal? We cannot joke with security. Criminals don’t stay where you can easily locate them; they stay in these places. We’re going to make sure that all illegal occupants of anywhere will be thrown out. It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do because security is paramount,” he said.
On concerns that many residents resort to shanties due to high rent in Abuja, the minister maintained that the Federal Government could not provide houses for every Nigerian.
“We cannot say because of poverty, we should allow you to kill people, to rob people, to kidnap people. That’s not allowed. It defaces the city,” he stated.
Wike further criticised landowners who fail to develop their plots, saying their negligence allows criminals to take over.
The minister has previously defended demolition exercises in Abuja. In March 2025, he ordered the demolition of houses obstructing road construction in Gishiri, Katampe, after a three-month eviction notice.
In December 2024, he dismissed criticisms of demolition as “blackmail,” stressing that the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) was only removing structures illegally built on government land.
“We are not afraid of blackmail,” Wike said at the time. “There are so many land grabbers. Some of us have come to put our feet down. Let heaven fall. It is even better heaven comes down now so that we would not be fasting again to go to heaven.”
