The Kwara state government says
it demolished the home of Olusola Saraki, father of Bukola Saraki, former
senate president, at dawn to avoid needless confrontation from community
members.
The state government had
demolished Sarakis’ political home better known as “Ile Arúgbó” in Ilorin, the
state capital, on Thursday morning.
Some community members had
earlier planned to stage a protest against the demolition.
In a statement, Murtala
Olanrewaju, the state commissioner of communications, described the planned
protest as “needless”.
He said the demolition was
earlier resisted by some persons, but security operatives were able to handle
the situation.
“The Kwara State Government early
today began the physical reclamation of the plot of land bordering the civil
service clinic in Ilorin,” the statement read.
“The reclamation exercise began
in the early hours of Thursday to avoid any needless confrontation. Attempts by
some persons to provoke government’s agents on lawful duty were resisted by the
security agents who exercised the highest level of restraint and
professionalism.”
The commissioner said the state
government did not receive any court order barring the demolition as of the
time the building was brought down.
He urged members of the state to
remain calm, adding that the government seeks to “restore sanity to the state”
within the confines of the law.
“Contrary to the claim that the
State Government was served court papers on the matter, we state that no court
paper has been served as at the time the government took steps to preserve what
lawfully belongs to the people,” it read.
“Finally, we urge the people of
the state to remain calm, peaceful, and be guided only by facts of the matter
and not be drawn into an emotional outburst that is targeted at distracting the
public from the issues at stake.
“While the administration is
focused on restoring sanity to the state after years of barefaced impunity, we will
do so within the limit of the law.”
In 2019, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq,
the governor, announced his decision to revoke the property owing to alleged
illegality in its acquisition.
He had said the land was
originally designated for the construction of a secretariat and parking lot of
the civil service clinic, but that it was unlawfully allocated to a private
firm — Asa Investments Limited — without any record of payment to the state
government.
But the former senate president
countered this statement, saying his late father lawfully acquired the land
from the state government.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users