The Prince Joseph Kpokpogri house was demolished after the government inspected the land and found out it belonged to FHA. Scroll down to see footage of the demolition and the main reason the house was demolished.
Kpokpogri, whose full name is Prince Joseph Kpokpogri, is an estranged lover of popular Nollywood actor, Tonto Dikeh.
The Delta-born politician whose home was demolished on Friday claimed it was razed because he refused to sell it to “powerful but unnamed individuals.”
He estimates that the house is worth N700 million.
The 43-year old publisher of Integrity Watchdog Magazine has vowed that he would fight to get justice.
Why was Kpokpogri’s house demolished?
The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) had visited the building site, led by its Managing Director, Gbenga Ashafa. They claimed the plot of land belonged to FHA, but the building design was never approved before the house was built.
According to the FHA, notices to stop work were sent at several stages and times during the project, but Kpokpogiri failed to comply.
The road alignment had been done long ago, according to Engr. Shehu Hadi, Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority, who was also part of the delegation that inspected the site.
According to Hadi, the road alignment that the collapsed structure obstructs was intended to be a major bypass for the Abuja-Keffi axis.
He went on to say that realigning the road because of the structure would be difficult and unfair to individuals who would be affected, given that the demolished building did not exist when the plan began.
Muktar Galadima, the Director of the Department of Development Control, said the mansion in Abuja’s affluent Guzape district was unauthorised and could not be allowed to trump public interest.
Galadima said that the mansion, which was built on a ledge in the fast-growing region, was obstructing a vital road network that connected the city’s famed Apo bridge to various parts of the city.
He claims that FHA was given the appropriate area in the district to carry out its mass housing scheme.
