News
We’re now homeless, 200 families displaced by NAF cry out
More than 200 families who resided in Nuwalege, a rural community along the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Road in reportedly rendered homeless, following the demolition of their homes to accommodate an extension of the Presidential Air Fleet, have now cried out over their present woes.
The PUNCH reports that as a result of the demolition, which was carried out by the Federal Capital Development Authority, at the request of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), the displaced residents were forced to seek shelter in nearby communities, including Zamani, Sauka, Giri, Iddo, Gwagwalada, and others, adding that though the PAF project and its funding were not available but there are indications the project would commence soon as NAF personnel had been mobilised to the project site ahead of construction activities.
The affected families, said they had not received compensation from the Nyesom Wike-led Federal Capital Territory Administration, the Nigeria Air Force and the Ministry of Aviation, the report also said, adding that its reporter, was prevented from accessing the community by heavily armed Air Force personnel guarding the site.
The report, quoted Muktar Galadima, Director of the FCT Department of Development Control, as saying during an engagement with the community, last December that the Air Force had written to the FCT minister giving notice of the plan to relocate the residents, noting, however, that the status of compensation for the people was uncertain.
“We will discuss with the Air Force because obviously, discussions behind the scenes indicate that some forms of compensation were paid. We are going to conduct further investigation by engaging the FCT Department of Resettlement and Compensation as well as the Nigerian Air Force and find out if compensation has been paid, to whom, and when,” Galadima said.
The same Galadima, was also quoted as saying after the demolition in January, that the residents were given a two-month notice before the exercise, adding that his office had informed the Air Force of the administration’s policy on relocating indigenous communities.
His words: “We informed the residents residing on the Nigeria Air Force land about the impending action and granted them a two-month window to pack their belongings. When the Air Force approached us, we told them about the FCTA policy on relocation and resettlement of indigenous communities.
“However, other non-indigenes are to be moved out of the location so that the Air Force can take over their land. The structures belonging to indigenes were left out because statutorily they have to be relocated and compensated, that’s why we are not touching their properties.”
In contradiction, however, residents of the community, were quoted as denying that they were notified of the demolition beforehand or paid any form of compensation, adding that no house was spared in the community during the demolition exercise.
Wisdom James, an artisan while introducing another perspective altogether said the notification showed that the demolition would start in the next two years, only for the bulldozers to arrive not long after, adding: “I live in Zamani now, but I’m from Nuwalege. They demolished our house in January. There was no information (prior to the demolition). The place they marked for demolition is not the place they demolished.
“They didn’t tell us when they would be coming. At a time, they told us they had shifted the demolition until the next two years. But in two days, they were there with bulldozers and started work. They didn’t pay us anything.
“We made some contributions to take the issue to court. I paid N2,500. We were meeting in Sauka. After meeting about six times, there was nothing like that again. The money we gathered, we don’t know where they took it to, and we weren’t paid back.”
Obadiah Tanko, an indigene of the community, echoing the same sentiments, was also quoted as saying that the natives had lived there long before the Air Force base was built next to it, pointing out that some of their ancestors were buried in the site that now belonged to the NAF.
“I’ve been living in Nuwalege for 15 years, though I am an indigene. When they (FCDA) first came, they used beacons to mark some places. That was years ago. So, we took the issue to court, because before the (Air Force) base was built, we used to farm there. But they shifted us towards the river. Some of our grandfathers were buried where the base is now.
“They did an initial demolition in 2007. When they came, they told us only part of the place would be demolished. Before we knew it, we were told it would be the whole thing, although they didn’t demolish mine because I’m an indigene. Some people who are Bassa and Gbagyi are still there. None of the victims were told they would be paid anything, and none of them has received any payment,” he added.
Folashade Olatunde, mother of five, and former resident, who recounted her ordeal, stating that she slept in a classroom for two weeks after her home was demolished, before she eventually found an apartment in the Zamani community, lamented that her family was no longer staying together since the forceful eviction and demolition, adding that the FCDA destroyed more than 200 houses in Nuwalege.
She said: “We left the community on January 15, 2024. They didn’t pay us any compensation, nothing at all. They just pursued everybody. I found money to rent a one-room apartment in Zamani after two weeks of sleeping in a primary school in the harsh cold.
“My family and I are separated, and I had to take some of our property back home. I have been staying here since then. I stay here with my husband and my two youngest children. My oldest son and the one immediately after him sleep in a nearby church, while my daughter is in Ekiti with my family. They scattered my family.
“The houses demolished are more than 200. Every house was demolished. None was left standing. The leader of those of us who are Yoruba also lives down the road here in a self-contained apartment. We paid N20,000 and at another time N15,000 for a petition against the way the houses were demolished. They gave us a receipt with the promise to pay some money into our accounts and since then, nothing has happened.”
Elizabeth Olushola, another victim, who was quoted as saying her home and a block of four classrooms she built were demolished in the exercise, also stating that she had not been compensated by the government, added: “I lived in Nuwalege for seven years. They did not tell us that they were going to demolish our community. But we saw them in 2023 when the FCDA came to mark some houses there.
“They said that was the only part they would demolish. Eventually, we saw that they had gone beyond where they marked, and they started demolishing everywhere and people had to start rushing out. There was no information, we just saw their bulldozers on January 15, 2024, and they started demolishing. I had a school there, a block of four classrooms; I also had a shop and everything was cleared off. We opened the school on January 9 and by January 15, they had demolished it. We had our own house, a two-bedroom flat, and a shop. They were both demolished too.
“They didn’t give us any money, nobody even approached us. They didn’t resettle us here (new residence) either, we moved here and we rented an apartment here.”
From Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s former President, came a mild rebuke to Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President, who in assessing the quality of his six-year tenure as Nigerian leader, all but dismissed him as “inexperienced.”
Atiku, a guest of Prime Time, a public affairs programme on ARISE NEWS Television, last week, told his host that Jonathan was inexperienced, saying his tenure was marked by notable missteps.
“I know Goodluck Jonathan very well. He is a decent young man, but also inexperienced, and I believe that contributed to his inability to manage the affairs of the country, particularly when he was faced with challenges,” Atiku, currently chasing the number one job the former President exited in 2015 for the seventh time, said.
But in a measured riposte at the 2025 Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria awards ceremony in Abuja on Monday, Jonathan, while acknowledging that he must have made some mistakes, argued that errors were inevitably with human beings as only God could be perfect,
Reacting to Atiku’s remarks, he told his audience: “So not too long ago, a very senior politician said, ‘Oh, Jonathan was too young and probably that’s why he made mistakes.’
“If I made mistakes, yes, nobody who becomes a governor or a president will say you did not make mistakes. Even when you promote yourself to the level of a god, you become a deity.
“All human beings must make mistakes. I became president in 2010 at the age of 53. I left in 2015 at the age of 58, and they say I was too young. Must it have been 100 years before I ran the affairs of the state?
“I’m talking to diplomats, so I can say that during my period, I knew what I did for us to appear in the UN Security Council two times… If I were so naive, I don’t think I would have been able to navigate through that process.”
Jonathan also spoke on regional affairs, warning that political instability remains a major obstacle to economic growth across West Africa. He stressed that without stable governance systems, meaningful development in the sub-region would remain elusive.
“We cannot progress economically if we are very unstable societies politically,” he said.
Jonathan noted that while the founders of ECOWAS envisioned strong economic cooperation, persistent political crises have hindered progress, particularly in enforcing democratic standards among member states.
“That means that ECOWAS must interfere with the internal affairs of the states, and the issue of sovereignty becomes a problem,” he said.
Jonathan urged leaders in the region to work collectively towards stability, saying, “The heads of states of ECOWAS must continue to work together and agree on concrete terms and make sure that the sub-region is politically stable.”
He added that economic integration efforts would falter without solid democratic institutions and called on Nigerian diplomats to properly document foreign policy experiences for future leaders.
Paying tribute to ECOWAS founders, including former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, Jonathan described the creation of the bloc in 1975 as a bold and necessary step toward regional unity and economic integration.
Gowon, who was also honoured at the event, recounted the origins of ECOWAS, linking its formation to post-war diplomatic engagements across West Africa.
According to him, “It was as a result of the various efforts of all Nigerians when we went through a very difficult period, and I had to go to the various countries to say thank you.”
He said discussions with regional leaders at the time led to a shared vision for broader cooperation.
“Why don’t we also think about having something that we can at least have in agreement for all of us when we are working together?” he said.
Gowon emphasised that ECOWAS was the product of collective effort rather than individual ambition, crediting government institutions and civil servants for its success.
“This would not have been possible without the support of all the staff of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Development,” he stated.
He added that the recognition bestowed on him should be shared widely.
“The honour that is being done to me today should really go back to all the staff that worked so hard to make sure that this became a reality,” he said.
Also speaking, the President of the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria, Joe Keshi, highlighted the importance of honouring excellence in diplomacy, noting that the awards celebrate dedication and service to Nigeria and the continent.
“Diplomacy is one profession where success is often invisible, reflected not by news coverage, but by maintained stability, prevented conflicts, cultivated partnerships,” he said.
Keshi noted that the event coincides with the 50th anniversary of ECOWAS, describing the organisation as “a bold experiment in regionalism,” and urged diplomats to adapt to evolving global challenges.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Waheed Shaibu, also praised Gowon, describing him as a symbol of national unity and visionary leadership.
He said the recognition offers a chance to reflect on a legacy “defined by visionary leadership, courage, and unwavering commitment to the unity, stability, peace, and progress” of Nigeria.
Shaibu added that Gowon’s leadership reflected “patriotism, resilience, and a profound sense of duty,” while commending ARCAN for its continued contribution to diplomatic discourse and Nigeria’s global engagement.
After months of official hiatus, the Federal Government, on Tuesday finally got on the way with the trial of those fingered in the alleged plot to oust President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through a coup, including Timipre Sylva, former Minister of State for Petroleum.
The move, which apart from the former Governor of Bayelsa State, came with the filing of a 13-count charge before the Federal High Court, Abuja, against the alleged plotters including Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, a retired General in the Nigerian Army, Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, a retired Naval Captain, Ahmed Ibrahim, a serving police inspector, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani.
Sylva, whose name surfaced as one of the plotters when the news first broke and believed to be the major financier of what would have led to another military government in Nigeria after the last ended in 1999, was listed as being at large – on the run.
The charge, filed on Monday by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), accuses the defendants of offences ranging from alleged treason and terrorism to failure to disclose security intelligence and money laundering linked to terrorism financing.
The prosecution alleged that the defendants conspired in 2025 “to levy war against the state to overpower the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”, an offence punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code.
The Federal Government further alleged that the defendants had prior knowledge of a planned treasonable act involving one Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others, but failed to alert authorities.
Furthermore, the defendants were also accused, according to the charge, of, while “knowing that a treasonable act was intended to be committed, did not give information thereof with all reasonable despatch to either the President… or a peace officer.”
They were also accused of failing to take preventive steps and “did not use any reasonable endeavours to prevent the commission of the offence”.
Beyond treason, the defendants are facing terrorism-related charges of conspiracy under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as they “conspired with one another to commit an act of terrorism in the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim and Zekeri Umoru were specifically accused of attending meetings linked to the alleged plot “in a bid to further a political ideology which may seriously destabilise the constitutional structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The charge also accused the defendants of providing support for terrorism, alleging that they “knowingly and indirectly rendered support” to facilitate acts of terror.
The prosecution alleged deliberate suppression of intelligence, stating that the defendants “had information which would be of material assistance in preventing the commission of the act of terrorism but failed to disclose the information to the relevant agency as soon as practicable”.
Financially, several defendants were accused of handling funds linked to terrorism financing, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Bukar Kashim Goni allegedly “indirectly retained the aggregate sum of N50,000,000, which forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: terrorism financing”, while Abdulkadir Sani allegedly retained N2m from a similar source.
According to the charge, Zekeri Umoru “without going through a financial institution accepted a cash payment of the sum of N10,000,000″ and also retained an additional N8.8m suspected to be proceeds of terrorism financing.
Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim was also accused of taking possession of “the sum of N1,000,000, being part of proceeds of terrorism financing”.
Alleged Coup Plot, Protests
After the Federal Government cancelled the parade to mark Nigeria’s 65th independence anniversary on October 1, 2025, reports had claimed that the move was linked to an alleged coup attempt.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) dismissed the claims, however, saying the parade cancellation had nothing to do with the alleged coup attempt.
In January 2026, the DHQ confirmed that there was an attempt to overthrow President Tinubu.
The DHQ Director of Defence Information, Samaila Uba, said investigations showed some military personnel were involved in the alleged coup plot.
According to Uba, the officers have been detained and would be arraigned before military judicial panels.
Last month, families of the military officers detained over the alleged coup plot appealed to Tinubu to allow the suspects to be tried in an open court.
Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore protested alongside the detained officers’ families. They also asked for access to the alleged coup plotters.
From the seat of the Presidency, came what indicates a clear and open support for the camp in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) fighting David Mark, National Secretary and Rauf Aregbesola, National Secretary, respectively.
The signal came from Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff (CoS) to President Bola Tinubu, who practically threw his weight behind Leke Abejide, one of the arrowheads wedging the war that could see the main opposition party in Nigeria not presenting a candidate for next year’s presidential election.
Against the backdrop of allegations that Aso Rock has been fuelling the various crises in the major political parties, Gbajabiamila, former Speaker of the House of Representatives and a key ally of President Bola Tinubu, all but clearly stoked the fire by egging the Kogi lawmaker on to launch a fiercer onslaught against the Mark leadership.
Urging Abejide, who had sworn that he would do everything to ensure Tinubu’s re-election not to leave the ADC, through which he won his election to the National Assembly in 2023, but to stay back and fight rather than exiting the party, the ex-Speaker praised him for his resilience so far.
Abejide, who on his own, has thrown his weight behind Nafiu Bala, former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, now laying claims to Mark’s position was one of those sacked at the convention organised by the Mark group last week.
But Gbajabiamila, who used the Kogi lawmaker’s birthday celebration on Monday to announce his support publicly, while hailing his political trajectory and resilience, including winning his election under the ADC – a relatively less-fancied platform in 2023.
His words: “For a man to contest in a place like Kogi, under a relatively unknown party, and win back-to-back elections, it tells you who that man is. You did not only secure re-election but also helped expand the party’s influence by bringing in other candidates. You’re a committed party man and a fighter.
“My charge to you is to stay in that same party. Fight them. Scatter them. Hold on to your party. Do not abandon them. We like what you are doing. Hold on to your party. Do not abandon it. Continue what you are doing. Win your election there. Nobody can take your party away from you.”
After the hammer from the Mark group, alongside Kingsley Temitope, Obinna Norman, Kennedy Odiong, and Stella Chukwuma, over the allegation of anti-party activities, Abejide dismissed his sack as null and void, coming from a “suya convention.”
Jonathan to Atiku: I don’t play God *I still achieved, though imperfect
BREAKING: FG opts for open court trial of coup plotters against Tinubu
ADC: Fight, scatter them! *Presidency goads Kogi lawmaker on Mark’s leadership
-
News4 weeks agoGovernor weeps, as terrorists kill soldiers, police in night ambush
-
Columns3 weeks agoSeun Okinbaloye saga: How does Tinubu survive if Wike resigns?
-
Columns1 week agoAbike Dabiri: Did Obi raise a monster or you’re drunk on Tinubu’s poisoned chalice?
-
News2 weeks agoStop using Latin phrases, make clear, unambiguous orders – NBA tells courts
-
News4 weeks agoBREAKING: Bloody day in Ibadan! *Trailer loses control, crushes residents!
-
News2 weeks agoNafiu Gombe: Yes, I have sponsors! *I can’t fight ADC big men alone!
-
Columns2 weeks agoCentus Nweze (JSC): Death of legal purist, irony of Nigerian judiciary
-
Columns4 days agoBe the hero that saved Nigeria! Open letter to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar