four corpses have been exhumed during a project in Ekiti to demolish houses to pave way for road construction in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital.
It was learnt that seven tombs had been marked for exhumation, out of which four had been destroyed as of Thursday.
A witness who preferred to stay anonymous, told NAN that as of the close of work on Thursday, no fewer than four corpses had been exhumed, while the remaining might still be exhumed.
A family member of one of the deceased whose corpses were exhumed has complained that the compensation that the government claimed it paid did not cover the displacement of corpses and the cost of transferring the corpses to another location.
Also, hundreds of protesters took to the street on Friday to protest against the plan to demolish some sacred places in the town.
Witnesses report that worshipers of the deities prevented the bulldozers from pulling down the deities. Armed security personnel were also said to have immediately been drafted to the area, including the entrance to the palace of the Ewi to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
It was learnt that the protest later led to the temporary suspension of demolition works around the shrines.
The state government had said in March that it had so far demolished over 300 houses in Ado-Ekiti, Ikere-Ekiti, Efon Alaaye-Ekiti, Omuo-Ekiti, Ise-Ekiti, Emure-Ekiti and Ijero-Ekiti in continuation of its urban renewal programme.
The government also said it had paid about N400m as compensation to affected persons.
Also, the State Commissioner for Lands and Urban Development, Mr Tayelolu Otitoju, had said that government embarked on the project to ease traffic congestion and adhere to government’s urban policy.
He also pointed out that government would not compensate owners of demolished houses that were built on waterways and those that did not comply with the necessary setbacks. He said such property owners had been warned in the past.
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