Tina Amanda
Some residents and Landlord’s of Yingialaa Polo community, in Port Harcourt local government area of Rivers state, have called for government’s intervention over the sudden eviction notice served on them by Nigeria Railway Corporation and Railway Property Management Company.
The residents numbering over fifty were seen expressing their grievances on what they termed “eviction without demand notice”. They demonstrated at the government house, displaying placards with inscriptions like “Governor Wike come to our rescue; We need adequate notice; We demand compensation, No demolition of properties without compensation amongst others” .
In an interview with our correspondent, the residents lamented that the Nigeria Railway Corporation came into the community and marked all the building for demolition which are not on the right of way, with out prior notice and only gave them twenty (20) days to quit from the community.
They express worries that most of them have lived in the said community for over forty to twenty years and have been paying rent to Nigeria Railway Corporation over time.
They, however, appealed to Governor Nyesom Wike to intervene in the matter, noting that it is unlawful to evict them from the community without any adequate or proper compensation.
Also, Human Right Advocate, Higher King, condemned the actions of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, pointing out that it is against the law to evict any occupant with out following the due process.
According to him, it is wrong for Nigeria Railway Corporation to hide under the guise of railway right of way to collect the said property and give it to a company alleged to be BUA Group PLC.
“This will be a very big dent on the Rivers State government if they allow this to happen, because they have not paid any compensation. You can not just come in and say twenty (20) days pack out even if they are illegal occupant you do not give people twenty days notice, what you do is to follow due process of the law to evict them.
“Nobody has power on his or her own to eject a tenant, the law says give adequate notice and if the person is an illegal occupant, you must go to court, you do not take law into your hands, enter a place and begin to demolish.
“We have given a warning to Nigeria Railway Corporation and Railway Property Management Company Limited who wrote the eviction letter with their letter head not from any court of law. We have written to them, warned them and demanded they should stop.
“We have written to the presidency, minister of transport, Attorney General of the federation, Nigeria Railway Corporation and Railway Property Management Company Limited asking them to stop, we have also written to Governor Nyesom Wike who we are now by this pleading to come and help these people.
“And again if railway corporation thinks these people have been there illegally, then why let them stay there up to thirty to forty years, they have lashed on their rights of being in that place by collecting money, rent and annual renewal. If they have done that they must compensate”.
