For five months, pupils in Abuja’s impoverished Gishiri community have been without a school after it was demolished on the orders of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike.
The school, the only one in the community, was razed on March 11, 2025, leaving a bleak future for the community’s vulnerable pupils: no school, no future.
The demolition left only one of the original four classroom blocks standing.
A visit to the site by Persecondnews correspondent, showed that the school has not been rebuilt, despite a plot of land being set aside for that purpose.
Instead, one of the three remaining classrooms is now occupied by the Nigeria Police, whose station was also destroyed in the demolition.
Speaking to Persecondnews, residents of Gishiri expressed a deep sense of betrayal, claiming that the government had promised to provide a bus to transport the students to a primary school in Mabushi while the Gishiri school was being rebuilt immediately—a promise that has yet to be fulfilled.
The distance from Gishiri to Mabushi is approximately 7.7 km, a journey that would take about 50 minutes to walk.
Among the residents, who voiced their frustration in separate interviews with PSN include youth advocate John Madalla Maikasuwa, parent Helen Musa, and concerned citizen Juliet Jonah.
Maikasuwa explained that the community’s impoverished parents, who are already struggling financially, cannot afford private school fees or the cost of transportation to a school in Mabushi.
With their children’s education on hold, Maikasuwa said the community is now trying to raise funds to rebuild the school themselves.
He mentioned that despite multiple attempts to contact government officials, they have had no success due to a lack of influential connections.
Maikasuwa also lamented the residents’ continued homelessness. He said that five months after receiving new land allocations from the FCTA, they have still not been given permission to begin construction.
“The land has not been allocated as promised. Despite the minister’s directive to clear the areas and give land to the less privileged, the allocation and proper demarcation have not been done, thereby hindering development,” he said.
Maikasuwa lamented that the delay is now prompting desperate individuals to sell their allocation papers to the highest bidder, further exacerbating the situation.
He said: “What we are expecting is that the minister should utilise the same level of authority and resources that were used to demolish the community to clear the allocated land, enabling people to start building.
“Since the minister issued the demolition order, the authorities have achieved their objective, leaving residents with no alternative but to live in cramped conditions.
“To this day, it is not uncommon to find four to five people sharing a small room, a situation that’s truly heartbreaking.
“Despite receiving the allocation papers and stipends, the funds are insufficient for residents to build even a modest two-bedroom flat.
“If the government genuinely wants to enable these individuals to benefit from the community’s development, they should have provided the land and adequate financial support to facilitate comfortable housing, rather than just allocation papers and limited stipends.
“We are fighting to preserve our cultural heritage and ancestral roots, as the land holds significant sentimental value.”
Also speaking to Persecondnews, Helen, a parent whose two children – one in Primary 3 and one in Primary 4 – were affected by the school’s demolition, said it will now cost her N1,600 to transport them to a primary school in Mabushi.
She said: “If you multiply N1,600 by five school days a week, that amounts to N8,000. For a month, assuming four weeks and three days, that would total N36,800.
“If I had that kind of money for transportation alone for the two children, wouldn’t I have enrolled them in private school?
“We humbly beg the government to consider our plea and prioritise our children’s education, for their sake as the future leaders.”
Juliet, a concerned resident with four younger siblings who attended the school, said they’re now forced to hawk groundnuts and sachet water on the busy road.
She fears this activity is detrimental to their future.
She said: “I wish to use this platform to urge the government to prioritise the education and well-being of our children. The sooner we nurture intelligent and brilliant leaders, the brighter our future will be.
“This demolition raises concerns about the government’s commitment to the children’s welfare. This action not only disrupts the children’s education but also leaves a lasting negative impact on their young minds.
“As they grow, they will recount this experience as an example of governance that failed them.”
In a brief interview with Persecondnews, three pupils from the school—Uzefe, Gabriel, and Istifanus—confirmed they have not been to class since the demolition in March 2025.
“We have not been going to school because our parents cannot afford to transport us to other schools. We are begging the government to help us,” they pleaded.
The demolition, which occurred on Tuesday, March 11, in the Gishiri area of Abuja’s Katampe District, saw over 200 residential and commercial buildings leveled under the supervision of Minister Wike.
The action left traders devastated as their businesses, stocked with goods ranging from building materials to phones, were destroyed.
During the demolition, security personnel—including the police, military, and NSCDC—used tear gas and threatened to fire on the crowd, escalating the already tense situation.
Minister Wike defended the action, stating the structures were illegally built on a designated road corridor.
He explained that the demolition was a last resort after residents failed to relocate despite having a relocation site and compensation funds provided to them.
In response to the Minister’s statement, community representatives revealed to Persecondnews on March 13 that they are refusing relocation due to the grossly insufficient compensation offered.
They said: “We cooperated with them when they came for house numbering and capturing in 2024, afterwards they came for evaluation.
“After the evaluation they valued one bedroom flat for N100,000 – N300,000 some buildings were valued at N50,000.
“They told us they are using the compensation plan of 2013, how do you use compensation plan of 12 years ago in 2025 is the price of building materials the same? Is the price of cement in 2013 the same with 2025?.
“Considering the compensation plan If you buy a bag of cement for N3000 in 2013 and now a bag of cement in Gishiri is N9900 do you think you can even do foundation with the merger compensation been given.”
After considering their complaints, the minister, during a meeting with community members at his official residence on March 17, upgraded the compensation from N655 million to N1.3 billion.
He ordered the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory Development Authority(FCDA), Mr. Richard Dauda, to ensure prompt and full compensation payments to the Community.
Wike warned him that failure to adhere to the instruction would lead to termination of his appointment.
He equally directed the Secretary to ensure non-indigenes also received compensation payments, stressing that the government’s compensation policy is ethnicity-neutral and applies equally to all citizens, regardless of their ethnic background.
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