The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has commenced demolition of properties at the Aviation Quarters in Kano amid a dispute over ownership rights. 

Speaking on behalf of the affected residents, Obadaki Muhammad Mustapha, a staff of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and Secretary of the Aviation Quarters Committee, expressed concerns over FAAN’s actions, describing them as a violation of a federal government-approved property sale. 

According to Mustapha, residents have been in discussions with the government since 2011 regarding purchasing their homes under the Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC) on the Sale of Government Properties. 

By 2021, the federal government had reportedly approved the sale, with many occupants having paid and obtained ownership documents for the quarters. 

However, Mustapha alleged that FAAN was resisting the sale despite the government’s monetisation policy, which has been in place since 2003. 

He said the demolition and eviction exercise came as a shock, prompting the residents to seek legal action. 

Reacting to the controversy, Ahmad Danjuma, FAAN’s Acting Regional General Manager for Northwest Kano, defended the demolition, saying the Aviation Quarters were originally designated as institutional duty houses for airport staff and should not have been sold without FAAN’s consent. 

Danjuma said FAAN was not consulted before the PIC initiated the sales, and the authority only learned about the transactions through staff rumours. 

Danjuma further alleged that some FAAN staff who purportedly bought the houses illegally resold them to third parties, leading to unauthorised extensions and modifications.