Enugu govt demolishes another multi-million building linked to kidnapping

The Enugu State Government, on Saturday, demolished another building worth millions of naira for allegedly being used for kidnapping in Enugu State.

The building was located at Amaebo Owelli, a community in Awgu Local Government Area of the state.

The Chairperson of the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, Uche Anya, supervised the demolition.

Mr Anya told reporters that the building was allegedly being used for keeping victims of kidnapping.

“What you see here today (Saturday) is the continuation of the war of the Enugu State Government against all manner of criminality. Today, we are here to take down a kidnappers’ den.

The property you see us taking down right now is a place where horrendous criminal activities happened,” he said.

Giving an instance of the alleged kidnap activities in the building, the chairperson said a male kidnap victim was seen in a video which surfaced in May, showing some suspected kidnappers pointing “several” AK-47 rifles at his head.

“Security agencies moved to the place. Every other person was arrested, but the kingpin escaped to Ebonyi. We tracked him to Ebonyi, and he escaped to Lagos where the Enugu State Government and the security agencies caught up with him,” Mr Anya narrated.

He said several arms and ammunition were recovered during the operation.

“Interestingly, the kingpin of the gang that did this nonsense was a member of the same gang we went after somewhere at Ogbeke Nike,” he added.

Why Enugu govt cannot convert such properties

Mr Anya said that despite the clamour of some residents, the state government will not convert properties linked to kidnapping to “good use.”

The chairperson explained the government prefers to demolish such properties to serve as a deterrent to others.

“The Enugu State Government does not want anything that will remind us of the deadly criminality. We just want to put it out of our minds.

“We do not need to acquire a criminal’s property to use it to serve the public. We bring it down, and we do our own thing. We do not want to profit from their criminality,” he stated.

Mr Anya stressed that the demolition was backed by law, citing Section 315 (Second Amendment) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 30, Laws of Enugu State 2017.

“If the building or structure owned by the offender or any other person, who knows or ought to reasonably know that the building or structure is so being used for that purpose, the building or structure shall be demolished or forfeited to the state government,” he said, quoting the section of the state’s law.

Warning to landlords

The chairperson warned landlords that the government would not accept any excuses in enforcing relevant laws of the state empowering it to demolish properties linked to kidnapping.

“Every landlord, once you put up a house in Enugu, we hold you responsible for any criminality that happens in your property. And once it becomes a violent crime, kidnapping, killing, armed robbery, we will take down the property in line with the law that was made by our predecessors,” he said.

“As I speak, the government has taken over this property. That is why we are tearing it down. The title deed is revoked. The government of Enugu State will probably put up a clinic or something that will be more beneficial to the people of Owelli Court.”

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Not the first time

Governor Peter Mbah-led administration in Enugu State has been demolishing properties linked to kidnapping and violent crimes in the state.

In August, for instance, the state government demolished several buildings linked to kidnapping in communities within Enugu East Council Area of the state.

Some of the demolished properties were an uncompleted three-story building at Nkwubor Layout in Emene-Nike and a large farm, housing a poultry, piggery, and plantain plantation at Ogbeke-Nike.