Mrs. Rita Lori Ogbebor, the wife of the late Colonel Paul Ogbebor, has revealed that her husband was one of the individuals involved in the construction of Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja.

She said it would therefore be inappropriate for the present government of Bola Tinubu to forcefully take over their lands which they had been in possession for over four decades.

On Wednesday, SaharaReporters reported how residents of Life Camp area of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, cried out in response to the FCT Minister, Nyseom Wike’s revocation of their land interests.

In multiple videos uploaded on X (formerly Twitter), the FCT officials were seen storming the community with a bulldozer to demolish the houses but they were resisted by the residents.

The residents claimed that there was a subsisting court order stopping the FCT administration from demolishing their houses and declaring the revocation of their interests as illegal.

Martins Vincent Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, a social media influencer, said in one of the videos that the revoked land belonged to a late prominent military soldier whose family members are currently occupying it.

He said the FCT minister revoked the land and reallocated it back to his cronies.

Commenting on these developments at a press conference on Friday, Mrs Ogbebor said she would rather die than appeal to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the land dispute case between Paullosa Nigeria Limited, an estate management company owned by her late husband, and the authorities of the Federal Capital Territory.

Ogbebor said that it would be belittling to reach out to the president or make any form of appeal to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

Ogbebor, however, stated that her husband was one of those who built Abuja, adding that persons who were close to the President should know her and take the matter to the President.

“I am not saying the President should know me, but the people, the leaders, who surround and advise the President should know people like us, who oil the wheel of progress in this country. And when there is a problem like this, they should intervene, and if it is above them, they should take it to the president.

“My husband was one of those who built Abuja; they gave him a piece of land to work as an engineer. He brought people from all over the world to work with him. Now, after 42 years, they want to demolish it and give it to Chinda? Who is Chinda?

“If you take Chinda’s age today and the period we have been here, Chinda was only 14 years old. And so is Wike. Is that not belittling of me at the age of 84, to go and meet the president, ‘Mr. President, someone in my country is demolishing my house? No. I would rather die,” she said.