Families of police officers residing at Kontagora Road, Gawon Nama, Sokoto, on Sunday protested what they described as the unauthorised demolition of their houses, allegedly by the state government.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the protesters, comprising wives and children of police officers residing in the quarters, displayed placards calling for the intervention of relevant authorities.
Speaking to journalists, the wife of late Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Halliru Gwarzo, Hajiya Safiya Halliru, said they heard an unusual noise around the premises in the early hours of Sunday.
“On coming out of our houses, we saw a bulldozer, accompanied by Civil Defence personnel, demolishing our perimeter fence.
“Most of the husbands were not around, some were on duty, while others have gone to the Mosque for the dawn Prayer,” she said.
Halliru said they had been living in the quarters for more than two decades, adding that even if the houses were to be sold, the residents deserved to be contacted before taken any action.
She appealed to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Rilwan Tunde Disu, to intervene, recalling that her husband died in active service and that his family did not deserve to be treated that way.
Another protester, Mrs. Hadiza Abdulrazak-Gulma, said the matter had been before the court for two years adding that they had received a court notice indicating that proceedings would commence on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
“We received a court notice that the court will commence hearing on Tuesday. Unfortunately, we woke up to this unfortunate incident even before the court proceedings began,” she said.
Abdulrazak-Gulma also appealed to the IGP to intervene, noting that their husbands had sacrificed their lives in the service of their father land.
A NAN correspondent who monitored the situation at the scene reports that most of the houses were being occupied by serving senior police officers, including a Commissioner of Police.
When contacted by newsmen, the Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Mr. Nasiru Dantsoho, said he was not aware of the incident and therefore had no comment to make.
A cross-section of protesters claimed that colleagues of their husbands in other states had already been issued Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) for similar residential quarters, questioning why their counterparts in Sokoto were yet to receive the same benefit.
