Enugu govt reacts to allegation it demolished building with occupants inside

The Enugu State Government says it did not demolish a building with the occupants inside on the Penoks-Abakpa axis of the Enugu metropolis as insinuated in a video clip circulating on the Internet.

A media aide to Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, Reuben Onyishi, made the clarification in a statement on Sunday in Enugu.

The state government described the video clip as fake and urged the public to discountenance it.

According to Mr Onyishi, some mischief-makers posted the video on social media, claiming that the Enugu State Government demolished a building while the occupants were inside it.

“No such thing happened in Enugu State. The video in place was a demolition that took place somewhere in the north, which the daredevils culled from antiquity and purporting to have taken place in Enugu State.

“Their action is to misrepresent the Mbah administration before the public.

“It may interest the public to know that the Enugu State Government had put up a notice of vacation to property owners whose properties were less than five metres to the road.

“This followed the flag off of the dualisation of the 43.7 km Penoks-Abakpa Nike-Opi-Nsukka Road in October 2024.”

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He explained that while fringes were being cleared for the commencement of the road construction work, affected property owners had vacated their properties.

“What played out was that some scavengers milled around the sites seeking what to cart away.

Some of them dashed into the buildings on demolition, seeking what to grab,” he said.

Mr Onyishi said the state government, under Mr Mbah’s watch, would not go to such “inhuman length” of demolishing a property while the owners were inside it.

(NAN)