Residents of the Kofare/Dundere community in Yola South Local Government Area of Adamawa State whose buildings have either been demolished or marked for demolition for an ongoing stadium project have demanded compensation from the state Government.
A total of 166 houses and other landed properties are to give way for the Yola International Stadium complex currently being built by the government.
Chairman of the Kofare/Dundere Community, Mohammed Abdullahi Suleiman, in an interaction with newsmen in Yola, appealed to the government to compensate all affected parties.
Suleiman said the landlords followed due process in acquiring their respective plots, adding that some of them have occupied their respective houses for as long as 15 years before the current administration shocked them with quit order.
According to him, although the decision by the government to complete the long abandoned stadium project is welcome, the decision is costing the community its peace.
Suleiman urged Governor Ahmadu Fintiri to address the matter with human face, adding that even if building on the controversial stadium land was a mistake, they do not deserve the harsh decision from a government they brought to power.
On their own, Governor Fintiri and officials of his administration have often claimed that the landlords acquired the lands for the affected properties illegally and encroached on the land earmarked for the stadium.
The government has frequently claimed to have told the affected inhabitants on several occasions of government’s intention to retrieve all areas encroached by the people.
The government officials, blaming the
