On the morning of 15th January 2024 dozens of police and soldiers stood guard as over 200 homes in the Nuwalege community, a settlement in a rural area adjacent to the Presidential Wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (the main airport of Abuja, capital city of the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria) were demolished to make way for expansion of the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF). Police fired teargas to disperse residents and they were prevented from entering their homes. Officials threatened to seize people’ phones and one person who took photos of the demolition was manhandled. Some Nuwalege residents including community leaders said that the demolition happened without warning.

Demolition of more than 200 houses in the Nuwalege community had been ordered by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on 18th December 2023 and a thorough investigation of compensation for affected people, involving the FCTA, the Department of Resettlement and Compensation and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), was promised. Peter Obi, Labour Party candidate in the 2023 presidential election, spoke out against the planned demolition in a statement on his X account: “I am again pained that we are embarking on such an inconsiderate project at this critical time when the country is going through such hardship…We cannot continue to encourage those who have kept us suffering to enjoy a luxurious lifestyle far beyond our legitimate means…I therefore, advise that we have a rethink, and, most importantly, ensure that our fellow Nigerians are not rendered homeless for the sake of an unproductive presidential fleet.” He also argued that instead of expanding the Presidential Air Fleet the government should explore ways of reducing or getting rid of it to reduce costs.

Seven months after the demolition, in August 2024, The Punch reported that Nuwalege landowners who were forcibly ejected following demolition of their homes were still calling for compensation. Residents denied Department of Development Control claim that the structures belonging to indigenous people had been left intact, saying that no houses had been spared from demolition and the Director of the Department of Development Control’s claim that they had been given a two-month notice period before the demolition took place. Many displaced residents had been forced to seek shelter in nearby communities including Zamani, Sauka, Giri, Iddo and Gwagwalada.

Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) issued a statement expressing dismay at widespread destruction of indigenous settlements in the FCT on 1st September 2024, making specific reference to the forcible demolition of over 200 homes in Nuwalege. Urging the government to engage in dialogue with affected residents CHRICED Executive Director Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi said, “The demolition reportedly executed by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to accommodate the luxurious lifestyle of the presidency demonstrates gross irresponsibility and insensitivity to the plight of the Abuja natives. This prioritization of luxury and expansion for a select few over the basic rights and needs of ordinary citizens is an affront to democratic values and the principles of social justice.”

Works in the demolished area have not commenced but on 1^st November 2024 a N9.8bn (USD5.9m) contract for rehabilitation of facilities in the Presidential Wing was awarded to Nigerian construction firm Julius Berger. Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) said the project – including rehabilitation of the link road, access road to the presidential kitchen, hangar housing presidential aircraft and holding centre for visiting presidents – would take six months. A number of civil society organisations condemned the contract. Peluola Adewwale, National Secretary of the Democratic Socialist Movement, said, ”The N9.8bn presidential wing rehabilitation contract is a misplacement of priority, frivolous and insensitive.” The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) described the Presidential Wing rehabilitation as an ‘unnecessary project’. CDHR chairman in Osun State, Emmanuel Olowu, said, “the Tinubu’s government prioritises a luxurious lifestyle against the welfare of the people.”

For more information including references for all source material see the case study on EJAtlas, the world’s largest, most comprehensive online database of social conflict around environmental issues – Nuwalege homes demolished for Presidential Air Fleet expansion, Nigeria.