The Coalition of Civil Rights Against Impunity has staged a peaceful protest, demanding compensation and condemning the demolition of multi-million-dollar properties.

The group alleged that the ministry, under the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road project, illegally pulled down the investments without offering any form of compensation.

Carrying placards with inscriptions such as: Tinubu sack Umahi before he sinks FD; Minister of Works is complicit in abrupt road diversion; Lagos-Calabar road built on stolen land, this is not development. International investors deserve protection, not demolition, among others.

Speaking during the protest at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja, the coalition’s leader, Comrade Declan Ihekaire, accused the Minister of Works, David Umahi, of complicity in what he described as an “abrupt road diversion” that resulted in the destruction of the affected properties.

The demolition was carried out to pave the way for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road project led by the minister, David Umahi, but the protesters argued that the demolition sends a wrong signal to foreign investors and undermines Nigeria’s image as an investment-friendly country.

He said such actions discourage much-needed foreign capital inflow and contradict the government’s public commitment to boosting investment.

He said, “You cannot destroy the hard-earned investments of Nigerians in the Diaspora and international investors without due process, compensation, or proper engagement. This will scare away foreign capital.”

The group urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately launch an independent investigation into the demolition to ensure that affected investors are adequately compensated.

They also called for a transparent and investor-friendly approach to infrastructure development, stressing that progress must not come at the expense of private property rights.

Ihekaire added, “These are people from the East, North, South, and West who have traveled far and wide to show solidarity to Nigerians whose properties have been destroyed by the Ministry of Works.

“The ministry should engage the people and listen to their pain, but what we have seen so far is a one-way traffic, only the minister comes, speaks, and leaves. That is not dialogue.

“There should be a proper forum for engagement, and if possible, the National Assembly should intervene by setting up a panel to investigate this matter. What we are saying is simple: people must be compensated.”

Also speaking, human rights activist Ogunsanwo Olumide John, called on President Tinubu to rescue the coastal road project from what he described as “Umahi’s mismanagement.”

John called on the President to set up a committee of inquiry to investigate the alleged injustice.
He said, “Mr. President should call for a committee of inquiry to look into what has gone wrong. That will go a long way to prove that he is a listening leader.”

However, a legal practitioner, Mr. Tahir Ahmad, counsel to the Foreign Investors Network of Nigeria, said the protest was prompted by what he described as an admitted case of illegal diversion of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road project.

He emphasised that the sudden diversion of the road onto people’s properties was shocking and must be addressed through proper compensation.