Why We Demolished Saraki’s Building Before Dawn — Kwara Govt

The Kwara State Government has said the late Olusola Saraki’s building, popularly called Ile Arugo (old people’s home), was demolished before dawn on Thursday to avoid confrontation.

There were reports that some women had planned a protest on Thursday against the revocation of the land where the building was located by the state government.

But the enforcement team of the state government arrived at Ile Arugbo about 3am for the demolition on Thursday. Though they were initially resisted, the team successfully pulled down the building at 4am.

The Kwara State Commissioner for Communications, Alhaji Murtala Olanrewaju, in a statement on Thursday, described the planned protest as “needless”.

He also clarified that the state government was not served any court papers on the property.

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The statement read, “The Kwara State Government early today began the physical reclamation of the plot of land bordering the civil service clinic in Ilorin.

“The reclamation exercise began in the early hours of Thursday to avoid any needless confrontation. Attempts by some persons to provoke government’s agents on lawful duty were resisted by the security agents who exercised the highest level of restraint and professionalism.

“Contrary to the claim that the State Government was served court papers on the matter, we state that no court paper has been served as at the time the government took steps to preserve what lawfully belongs to the people.

“Finally, we urge the people of the state to remain calm, peaceful, and be guided only by facts of the matter and not be drawn into an emotional outburst that is targeted at distracting the public from the issues at stake.

“While the administration is focused on restoring sanity to the state after years of barefaced impunity, we will do so within the limit of the law.”