Imagine that you are a house owner with a thriving business, then one morning, you wake up and everything is all gone. You now 'move in' into an uncompleted building with your five children.

This is the story of a woman, identified simply as Mama Yakubu. She lost everything she spent almost all her life building after the Federal Capital Territory Administration demolished her house in Abuja.

Mama Yakubu has been dealing on sachet water business in Apo Akpmajenya area of Abuja for years. Through the business, she fed her family and paid her children's tuition fees, but now she has lost everything, including her hope of a better future for her children.

According to Mama Yakubu, the FCT government demolished her house and destroyed her water cooling machines; and right now, she does not have enough to rent an apartment, hence, they live in an uncompleted building.

Officials of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) surrounded Apo Akpmajenya area of Abuja with many gun-wielding security officers around 3 AM on Saturday.

Of course, many of the residents were in deep sleep around that time, but around 4 AM, the security officers sprayed tear gas on the people, as bulldozers demolished their houses.

Due to the pain and smoke from the substance the security officers sprayed, residents had no choice but to scamper to safety, leaving their properties behind.

Mama Yakubu is not the only victim of the incident that happened on Saturday.

In fact, many were displaced from their homes in Apo Akpmajenya community.

Another woman, known as Mama Ruth, now sleeps in a car with her husband, as the place they used to call home was also demolished.

The emotion on the faces of affected residents are that of anger, sadness, and disappointment. Many of them are still stranded, with no hope of how to move their lives forward.

The original natives of Apo Akpmajenya are the Gbagyi people, but people from people from different parts of the country live and do businesses there. Also, high cost of rent in Abuja metropolis forced middle income earners to make the area their residence.

Meanwhile, the FCDA has justified the demolition, saying that residents were warned before Saturday to move out because government plans to construct a major road in the area.

Malam Nasir Suleiman, who is the Deputy Director of Planning and Resettlement at the Department of Resettlement and Compensation said government built 131 houses, including 169 plots of land for the indigenes.

He added that they have engaged them to prepare them from leaving the area.

Why did they not leave despite the warning?

While government and the Gbagyi people were in talks, the indigenous people continued to assure business owners that they were safe.

Therefore, tenants and business owners relaxed because of this false hope.

Abubakar Yahaya who had a huge retail store in the area said if the the Gbagyi people opened up on the situation of things, they would have prepared to move. Now, after he lost everything, he is relegated to selling on a table.

Danlami is a tailor who lost all his sewing machines. According to him, he did not remove even a pin from his house, his only belonging today are the clothes on his body.

He explained that the time the security officers sprayed the tear gas made it difficult for any of them to take a thing.

"As the bulldozer demolished my house, I began to cry because of everything I have lost."

Danlami is now jobless, with nowhere to lay his head.

What are the Gbagyi people saying?

The spokesperson of Original Inhabitant Development Association, David Aboki refuted the claim that government built houses for the people.

He however, said that they were given lands in a bush that is not secure for the people to live. He also said that they were gathering facts to drag the government for their action.

While Gbagyi indigenes have the opportunity to get compensation, Mama Yakubu and her neighbours will continue to count their losses.

This is truly a sad development. The FCT administration should have relocated residents first before demolishing their houses. What do you think?