The FCT administration, Thursday, demolished a popular market in Mpape.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration has denied rumours that it has commenced the demolition of houses in Mpape, a suburb of Abuja that houses thousands of residents

Nathaniel Atebiji, the Deputy Director, Monitoring and Enforcement, Department of Development Control, of the FCT, said this in Abuja during the demolition of some ‘shanties’ in Mpape.

“We did not demolish any house, it is just shanties built with wood where hoodlums are hiding that we removed,’’ Mr. Atebiji said.

The Abuja administration official said the “shanties” were removed for security reasons. He said the place was a make-shift market that had served as a hideout for hoodlums.

Some residents of Mpape had gone to court to challenge the planned demolition, from August 31, of the area. Though the presiding judge for the case refused to grant an order expressly stopping the FCT administration from demolishing Mpape homes, he advised all parties not to take any action until the determination of the suit.

The Attorney General of the federation, Mohammed Adoke, in a letter, Thursday, also advised the FCT, and its minister, Bala Mohammed, not to demolish houses in Mpape until a ruling is given on the matter.

Some of the traders operating in the “shanties” demolished on Thursday however lamented their loss.

“We paid money to some market officials to make use of the space allocated to us,” said Helen Nwachukwu, a trader. “We heard that the space where the market is belongs to one man and he wants to make use of his land; that is the reason for the demolition of this particular place.”

The market demolished on Thursday is a popular one in Mpape called ‘Friday Market.’