Some occupants had been in illegal occupation for years
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has evicted illegal occupants from its barracks in Nyanya, Abuja.
The service had earlier given them up till April 14 to leave or face eviction. The categories of occupants issued notice included retirees who had remained in their flats for more than three months after retirement, transferred officers still in their flats, dependants of deceased officers still occupying after six months, and people occupying flats without due allocation.
One of those evicted had lived in the barracks for more than 15 years after her husband’s transfer to Lagos.
“She turned part of her residence into a restaurant and the husband still maintains a customs flat in Lagos,” an officer on the eviction team said.
The dependants of several deceased officers however complained that they had not been paid the entitlements of their principals, and so had nowhere to go.
Despite that, Wale Adeniyi, NCS Head of Public Relations, said non-payment of entitlements could not be a justification for remaining in the barracks indefinitely. He urged those with complaints to process their complaints from outside the barracks.
