Delta estate owners seek compensation over 2024 Anwai demolition

Property owners at Parkview Estate, Anwai, in Delta State have appealed to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to investigate the circumstances surrounding the demolition of their buildings at Anwai and Musa Camp, and to ensure they receive compensation. The owners also urged the governor to establish the rightful ownership of the disputed land and facilitate its recovery by those who legitimately acquired it.

They allege that their buildings were demolished on 14 May 2024 by the Delta State Taskforce on Recovery of Government Lands despite pending legal proceedings over the ownership of the property. Speaking with journalists, the chairman of Parkview Estate, Chief Charles Ogbobe, described the demolition as devastating, saying investments worth millions of naira were destroyed, leaving families homeless and causing severe financial hardship.

Ogbobe maintained that the disputed land was legitimately acquired and that the property owners hold documents to establish their claims. He said some affected persons had died since the demolition as a result of the hardship and emotional trauma they suffered, and that a High Court had directed the parties to produce survey plans showing the boundaries of the disputed property.

The estate's vice chairman, Samuel Onuwa David, alleged that the demolition was carried out before a seven-day notice issued to occupants had expired. He said he lost a private school, a residential building and four buildings belonging to his in-laws in the exercise. Another owner, Christian Nwaolisa, said he had returned from northern Nigeria to settle in his home state but lost his residence, despite having obtained a Certificate of Occupancy and building approval before developing the property.

The property owners are asking the governor to intervene, investigate the demolition and ensure that their claims to the land and their demands for compensation are addressed.