On Monday, March 25, the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) filed an appeal with President Bola Tinubu requesting that he order Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, to abide by a court ruling that granted N1.1 trillion to a Niger state community for losses brought on by the Zungeru Dam overflow.
Ibuchukwu Ezike, the Executive Director of CLO, made the appeal during an Abuja press conference.
According to Ezike, the amount is the price of the damages granted to
The construction of the Zungeru Hydro-electric Power Dam in the state resulted in the forced displacement of the Samboro Community and the destruction of their means of subsistence.
As per his statement, the purpose of the press conference was to bring attention to the precarious situation of the people living in Samboro Community in Madaka District, Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State. They were forcibly removed from their communal land due to the substandard design and construction of the Zungeru Hydro-electric Power Dam in the state, which was carried out by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Power of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
He gave an explanation, saying, “The unfortunate Samboro Community’s problems began when the Zungeru Hydro-Electric Dam burst and unleashed an unbelievable amount of water into the community, destroying the residents’ homes and means of subsistence in a matter of hours or days.
“Our sources told us that the Nigerian Federal Government neglected or failed to assist its people, leaving them to fend for themselves as the catastrophic effects of the Dam raged.”