Residents of Goshen Estate in Sabon Lugbe, a suburb of the Federal Capital city, have petitioned the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the Nigeria Police over the activities of a rock-blasting company in the estate posing danger to lives and properties.
The residents claimed that as at last week, more than 35 buildings at various levels of completion have been affected by the blasting activities of the quarrying company.
A real estate developer, Mr. Ernest Etuk, on whose property Parliamentary Hills Estate the blast is being carried out told journalists that the petition became necessary as all entreaties to the company proved abortive.
According to Etuk who said that the company claimed to have secured approval from the Federal Ministry of Solid Mineral Development, rock-blasting in a residential area is a threat to lives and property.
“This is a residential area we have over 20 estates but within this particular estate is a living rock. The problem began when a quarrying company began blasting in December 2011,” he said.
“We approached the company so that we can reach an agreement on how and when the blasting can be carried out since they claimed to have a four-year license to mine in that area. We could not reach any compromise and we had to continue with our own development of the estate. But to our surprise and that of the residents, the company came around last week when it was thought nobody would be around.
“The effect of the blast is devastating. As we speak, both completed and uncompleted buildings numbering about 35 have been badly affected. The impact is such that the foundations of the structures were badly affected; and if we continue construction, the effect in years to come would certainly be heavy.”
Pleading with relevant authorities to intervene and prevail on the company, Etuk expressed regrets that the FCDA has not responded to the cries of residents over the blasts.
“We even wrote to the Anti-bomb Squad of the Nigeria Police over the matter because of the explosives in possession of the quarrying company but there was no response from them as well,” he further stated.
“As it is now, our appeal is to relevant authorities to intervene because it is wrong for mining license to be granted in an officially approved residential area. As a result of the arrogance displayed by the quarry company, we have lost over N100m due to the significant damages done to our property. We are Nigerians too and should not be treated as if we don’t exist.”
