Kaduna State Government to compensate people with genuine ownership of land

In view of the public outcry in Kaduna State on the demolition of houses by governor El-Rufai, the state government has commenced the assessment of owners of land in the Millennium city with a view to compensating the rightful owners.

This follows a peaceful protest by residents of Danhono near the Millennium city, Kaduna, who stormed the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists complaining about the demolition of their structures without any compensation.

Briefing newsmen in Kaduna, Thursday while also reacting to the protest, the Director General, Kaduna State Geography and Information System, Alhaji Ibrahim Usaini, refuted the allegation of the protesters of forcefully taking over their land, saying the Land Use Act does not give anybody the right to land until it is allocated to the person by the government.

He added that the Land Use Act does not empower the government to take over land without paying compensation after following due process, stressing that the evaluation department of the ministry of land would ascertain what one has in his or her piece of land before proper compensation is paid.

The Director General explained that Danhono becomes part of the 12,000 housing units the Vice President, Osibanjo commissioned while on a visit to the state on January 13, 2016.