Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Kaduna Government on Wednesday night demolished the moribund Durbar Hotel located along Independence way, Kaduna
The ownership of the hotel had been in contention between the Federal Government and the family of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, since 2001.
It was observed that the demolition exercise was carried out by officials Kaduna State Urban Development Agency, (KASUPDA).
Abacha family lawyer, Mr. Reuben Atabor, said: “The Durbar hotel belongs to the family of Late Head of State, General Sani Abacha. They have been court with the Federal government since 2001. The family won the case against federal government. The Federal Government appealed and lost at the Appeal Court. As I speak with you, the case is at the Supreme Court, and it has not been decided. So, why should anybody demolish the hotel. We saw KASUPDA equipment demolishing the hotel, and since KASUPDA is Kaduna State government agency, all we know is the State government that is behind the demolition. The Abacha family will get Justice because we are filing court motion against the demolition.”
However, a witness who did not want his name in print said: “We saw heavy Caterpillars accompanied by security personnel, and thereafter the demolition started.”
But when contacted on phone, Director General of KASUPDA, Ismail Umar Dikko did not respond at the time of filing this report.
Our reporter who was at the scene of the demolition reported that while the demolition exercise was in progress, security personnel were stationed at in the vehicle to forestall any breakdown of law and order.