Onna road construction: Poor Widow cries out to Udom over imminent collapse of home

Onna road construction: Poor Widow cries out to Udom over imminent collapse of home

A poor widow, Mrs. Amaette Mboso Joshua from Afaha Ubium in Onna local government area has cried out to Governor Emmanuel Udom over the imminent collapse of the house she is living with her family due to the ongoing construction of the Etinan-Ndonoyo road.

Speaking in an interview with the Republican yesterday at her residence in Onna, Amaette pleaded with Governor Emmanuel to save her family from death by paying compensation for their property, which is resting on a cliff to enable them relocate, in the aftermath of a demolition carried out by the contractor handling the project.

The building, of which its foundation is severely damaged, is less than a meter to the drainage being constructed, further exposing it to the danger of being run over by heavy flow of water.

Her words, “Governor Udom Emmanuel, my brother, my son from Awa Iman, please come to our rescue by paying us compensation, so that we can move to a safer place and continue living before this building capsizes.

“This is the house where I gave birth to all my children and trained them. I live in it with my children, two grand children and relatives. It was to be demolished, after it was marked to give way for this road.

But surprisingly while compensation was given for the kitchen, bathroom and three graves, the main building was not paid for.

“And now our lives are at risks because of the condition of the building which can collapse at anytime, she added.

She also noted that the sum of three hundred and eighteen thousand six hundred naira (N318, 600) was paid as compensation for the demolished kitchen and toilet and three graves, while lamenting that any hopes of getting compensation for their 9 bedroom flats apartment continues to be elusive.

Also speaking, Mboso Joshua, a son to the widow disclosed that apart from the 9 bedroom apartment, marked OBC/AFU/L/555, a provision stall belonging to him, marked OBC/AFU/L/554 was demolished without compensation.

He lamented that the demolition of the provision stall has affected his means of livelihood, pleading with the state government to compensate him for the destroyed shop, so that he can take care himself and his aged mother.

In his reaction, counsel to the family and a human rights lawyer, Barrister George Ufot described the situation as a violation on the widows right to own immovable property and life, while urging the state government to take appropriate actions in order to avoid unnecessary litigation

This is a serious violation on the rights of our client which is protected by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and other International Human Rights Treaties and conventions which Nigeria is a party to.

Our client, a widow and her family has suffered gravely as a result of this violation on her rights to own immovable property and even her right to life because the structure we are seeing right now could capsize at any moment and could claim the lives of the occupants of this structure which was hitherto marked for demolition.

We urge the government to take steps in addressing this infringement on the Rights of our client to avoid unnecessary litigations in this regard.