Nigerian Army personnel have again invaded Tungamaje, a community in Abuja, near Zuba and en route to Gwagwalada, demolishing houses in a midnight raid.
The media understands that the soldiers stormed Tungamaje in the dead of night — at about 2am on April 1 — demolishing houses without prior notice.
“They came around 2am in the midnight and demolished houses. People have now been displaced, with parents forced to send their children to different places because they can no longer afford to survive,” a resident shared in despair.
The pain is unbearable.
“Some persons in the communities affected by the demolition have died; they lost hope and gave up,” another source confided to SaharaReporters.
Twenty-four communities in Tungamaje have been affected, each one grappling with the same nightmare.
“The Nigerian Army keeps threatening us. When they come, they order people to leave without giving them a choice. They come fully armed, and you know people who are already scared become even more terrified when they see soldiers with weapons.”
Many families have been driven from their homes, now seeking refuge in makeshift tents, renting run-down shelters, and scattering their children across different places, all in a desperate bid for survival.
“Where do we go from here? My children have nowhere to sleep, and my wife cries every night. We have written letters to different places — from the office of the Vice President down to the office of the FCT Minister — we have asked for intervention, but none has come.”
Residents accuse the Nigerian government of being afraid to confront the military.
“The Nigerian government seems scared of the military because the FCT Minister told us that at no point was the land allocated to the Nigerian military. Even when a Senate Committee held a public hearing, it was the same thing. One would have expected the military to stop based on the order from the government, but they keep coming and threatening the people in their homes.”
As if losing their homes wasn’t enough, residents say the army has also seized their farmlands.
Tungamaje is a predominantly farming community, and the loss of these lands has worsened their suffering.
“They took over our farms. Sometimes you go to your farm and realise that the Nigerian Military has leased it out to someone else. That’s when you find a stranger working on your land — your own farm, the one you cultivated — and they now harvest what is rightfully yours.”
With nowhere else to turn, the people of Tungamaje cry out for help. They call on the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, and security agencies to intervene before the situation escalates further.
Even before this recent demolition, the warning signs had been there. In the third week of March, the Nigerian Military allegedly destroyed several structures.
“They came last Monday, destroyed some structures, and they have promised to return tomorrow. Just 30 minutes ago, they showed up again, issuing verbal warnings. We have lived here for over 20 years, even before Nigeria’s amalgamation in 1914. This land remains our ancestral home, and we will not leave.”
SaharaReporters previously reported that demolition notices were given only through “oral notices” — verbal warnings from the Nigerian Army, without any formal documentation.
The conflict over Tungamaje’s land dates back to at least 2009 when the Nigerian Army claimed ownership, alleging it had been allocated to them for military use.
But the indigenous residents, who have lived here for generations, insist that the land belongs to them and that the army’s claims have no legal backing.
Over the years, tensions have boiled over. In 2016, residents staged a protest at the National Assembly, decrying eviction notices from the military.
They pointed to an existing court order restraining the Army from taking further action pending legal proceedings.
Yet, despite this, the demolitions continued.
The situation escalated further in 2019 when a standoff between soldiers and Tungamaje residents turned deadly. During a protest against the Army’s alleged land grab, a community member, Hamza Haruna Usman, was killed, and several others were injured. Roads were blocked, emotions ran high, and fear settled over the town like a heavy cloud.
The people of Tungamaje have never stopped resisting what they describe as the Army’s illegal encroachment. In December 2022, they took to the streets once again, protesting against military actions that destroyed their farms, homes, and livelihoods.
The Public Complaints Commission (PCC) intervened at the time, with then-FCT Commissioner Dalhatu Musa Ezekiel stating that the Army had no formal land allocation and that even then-President Muhammadu Buhari had directed them to vacate the area.
Yet, despite these rulings, the demolitions continue.
Now, the residents of Tungamaje stand at a crossroads, their voices hoarse from pleading, their hearts heavy with loss. But they refuse to give up. Their land is more than just a place — it is their history, their identity, their home. And they will fight to keep it.
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