On August 21, news broke that the
Rivers state government had demolished the central mosque at Trans-Amadi
Industrial Layout in Port Harcourt. The demolition was said to have been
carried out on the orders of Nyesom Wike, the governor. From that time, the
controversy has been on.
Although the governor said no
mosque was demolished and that what was brought down was the “foundation of an
illegal structure”, some Nigerians including Asari Dokubo, leader of the Niger
Delta Peoples Salvation Force (NDPSF), accused him of lying. The ex-militant leader
had said: “I am a member of the congregation of the Trans-Amadi central mosque.
That is where I pray with my family.”
The scene was visited by TheCable for an
on-the-spot assessment and findings showed that indeed a structure was
demolished. Though the structure which served as a mosque was at foundation
level, Muslims have been praying there for many years.
 |
| The foundation that was destroyed |
RESIDENTS, WITNESSES SPEAK
Residents and witnesses who spoke recounted how a bulldozer brought down a structure on the site in
the afternoon of August 20, 2019. A retailer whose shop is a few metres to the
plot of land where the mosque was being built said the government officials
arrived at the scene in company of heavily armed policemen.
“The policemen arrived and
surrounded the place. After some time, the bulldozer came and started
demolishing the foundation,” Nwanyi Ocha, a resident said.
“But they have not built anything
there, just the foundation. They were still pouring concrete on the surface
level. The only structure there is one small place where the iron bender takes
cover when it is rains. But people have been coming to the mosque to pray; they
pray on the ground. They were even there
last week Friday.”
Another resident corroborated
Ocha’s claim that what was affected was the building’s foundation and its
fence. Aliu Sadiq, secretary of the mosque, also said not much work had been
done on the site before the government officials visited the place.
 |
| After the demolition |
“The structure was at foundation level; it was an ongoing construction, not like a full structure,” he said, adding that the issue in contention is the plot of land and not necessarily what is being built on it.
THE ISSUE THAT SPARKED THE CRISIS
The controversy over the
ownership of the plot of land began in 2010 when the state government under the
administration of Rotimi Amaechi, Wike’s predecessor, carried out the first
demolition on it. Since then, it has been a subject of dispute between the
Muslim community and the state government despite an earlier court decision
over the matter.
Sadiq said the Muslims
in the state had bought the plot in 2010 from one Edward Amadi who owned the
property and similar ones within the area.
 |
| This plot has served as praying ground for Muslims for years |
“We bought it in 2008 (but)
before we bought it, the landlord showed us evidence that he is the owner of
the land; and he even told us to go and verify. There were correspondences
between him and the governor showcasing the ownership of the land. After
thorough investigation, we discovered it was indeed that of Chief Amadi.
“At some point, the government
wrote a letter to him to apply for fencing permit, which he did and was
granted. If the land does not belong to him, the government wouldn’t have
granted him that.
“So we came up with the mosque
building plan which was submitted to the government; it took almost a year
before the approval came out, which was in 2009. We then commenced the
development of the place by first of all awarding the retaining wall to protect
the there from water because the land is close to a canal.”
|
| Here’s the structure that was demolished |
He said all was going well until February 4, 2010, when Amaechi gave an order for the property to be demolished.
“There was no reason or notice.
He was just on an on-the-spot visit and saw us developing the place and gave
instructions for the place to be demolished. All efforts to get Amaechi to
rescind the decision did not work. By February 5, the next day, the demolition
was carried out.”
Following the first demolition
carried out on the site, Amadi went to the Rivers state high court with the
certificate of title of the land, alleging the demolition was illegal.
“A judgement had been given on
the case in 2017. There was a claim and counterclaim; the government claimed
the ownership of the land; Amadi went to court with ownership (title) of the
land; but his claim was dismissed based on non-signing of writ of jurisdiction.
The court said writ of summons was not properly signed,” Sadiq said.
“The government’s counter-claim
that they were the owner owner survived because the court said it was an
independent suit. But they (the government) were not able to prove that they
are the owners of the land, so their own case was equally dismissed. The two of
them were dismissed, meaning that the government has no ownership in that
place, and they did not appeal it.”
 |
| Amaechi: The land where the foundation of the mosque was laid belongs to the government |
TheCable reached out to Amaechi
who is now the minister of transportation.
Speaking through David Iyiofor,
his media aide, the two-term governor of Rivers, narrated his own role in the
crisis.
“Facts are being twisted and misrepresented.
Amaechi as governor of Rivers state did not demolish any mosque on that site.
We recalled that during one of his many project inspections around the city of
Port Harcourt, Amaechi noticed that some persons were in the process of
building on government land,” iyiofor said.
“He stopped the work they were
doing and directed the relevant Rivers state government ministry liaise with
the builders to determine the veracity of their claims that they(builders) have
legal rights to the land. The outcome of the government investigation at that
time confirmed that the land belongs to the state government and there was no
government approval for anyone or body to build on that parcel of land. So it’s
absolutely preposterous for anyone to claim otherwise and drag Amaechi’s name
into the current controversy.”
‘THE AREA IS OWNED BY GOVERNMENT’
Speaking to senior
officials of the Rivers government to seek clarifications on the matter, At first, none of the officials was forthcoming but after pressing for long hours, Dumo Williams, permanent secretary, ministry of land and survey, said the whole of Trans-Amadi Industrial Layout is owned by the government.
 |
| The state secretariat where the ministries of land and survey as well as that of that of urban development and physical planning are located |
“That area is owned by the
government. So, private land cannot be there. No private land is in the whole
vicinity. That is number one,” he said.
“That is why it is called Trans
Amadi Industrial Layout; an industrial layout is set up by (the) government. If
you are from Abuja, if there are industrial layouts there, you will never see
native land, or personal land there. What you will see is government land. And
for every government land, there are plot numbers.
“I don’t know the land but I
heard, just like you heard in the news that there is a foundation somewhere in
Trans Amadi that was demolished. Who demolished? I don’t know.”
Contrary to Williams’ claim, a lot of private structures exist within the
layout, some owned by Amadi who is now late. It was also gathered that no
structure within the area has been demolished recently.
At the ministry of urban
development and physical planning, the secretary at the permanent secretary’s
office declined to grant the reporter access to her principal after being told
what the visit was about.
Simeon Nwakaudu, spokesman to the
governor, declined comments on the various issues raised but said via
a text message, that “there was no demolition because no mosque existed at the
location.”
He, however, sent the reporter a
a news report on the court judgement “declaring Rivers state government” owners
of the land. Although we were not able to obtain the original copies of
the judgement from the state high court where the matter was heard, there were
doubts over the authenticity of the report.
 |
| The demolished fence that was surrounding the mosque |
The report only appeared on a few
blogs. Further checks showed the website was linked to the
governor’s aide as shown on his Twitter profile. He declined comments when this
was pointed out to him.
‘WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD?’
With the controversy still
raging, the government appears resolute not to allow any structure on the plot
while the Muslim community in Rivers is finding a means to reclaim the land.
Sadiq told TheCable that churches
and other properties bought from Amadi within the area where the foundation of
the mosque was demolished are still there. Wondering if there was a deliberate
attempt to disrupt activities of the Muslim community, he said the group is not
considering returning to court yet.
“We are peace-loving people, we
are trying to use diplomacy to reach out to the government to rescind its
decision. court is a legal battle. If you can use diplomacy and peaceful means
to resolve issues, it is better. For now we won’t go to court,” he said.
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