ABUJA, Nigeria, Authorities in Nigeria’s capital have ordered the demolition of houses and other structures built across waterways after heavy flooding swept through parts of Abuja, putting the city’s drainage system and development controls back under scrutiny.
Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike announced the move after touring flood hit areas of Maitama, one of Abuja’s most affluent neighborhoods and home to senior government officials, diplomats and other prominent residents.
Wike said inspections showed that some buildings were obstructing channels meant to carry stormwater. He warned that the exercise would go ahead regardless of who owns the properties.
“We will demolish all those houses found on the water channel. Some of them are senators. Some of them are big men,” Wike said.
“Whether there’s election or there’s no election, all those houses will go down,” he added. “Heaven will not fall.”
Wike said officials found that development had blocked some drainage routes marked out in the Abuja Master Plan. He also pointed to clogged drains, poor maintenance and the dumping of refuse in waterways as factors that made the flooding worse.
He ordered officials to begin clearing and desilting drains in affected areas.
Urban and regional planner Muyiwa Adebowale said the flooding was a reminder of a much wider planning problem.
“Abuja was conceived as a planned city with designated green areas, drainage corridors and waterways,” Adebowale told The ICIR.
He said authorities needed to return to the city’s Master Plan and determine where development had interfered with natural waterways and drainage channels.
There are signs that the problem reaches well beyond Maitama. A 2026 field study of six flood-prone corridors in Abuja found blocked and heavily silted drainage channels. At the Galadimawa Interchange slip road, researchers found that the drainage sections they examined were, on average, about 64% blocked.
Many of the buildings now facing demolition are not new. Wike said some have been standing for eight to 10 years, raising an obvious question: How were buildings allowed to remain on land designated for drainage for so long?
“Those houses are not houses that were built last week,” Wike said. “Those houses have been there 10 years ago, eight years ago.”
It remains unclear how many properties have been identified for demolition, whether they were built with government approvals or what options owners will have to challenge the decision. No verified public response from an affected property owner was immediately available.
Abuja was built as Nigeria’s purpose-designed capital and replaced Lagos as the seat of government in 1991. The Abuja Master Plan set aside areas for roads, green spaces, drainage and other essential infrastructure. But decades of population growth and construction have put increasing pressure on the original plan.
Wike said development was not solely to blame for the latest flooding. He also pointed to unusually heavy rainfall and climate change, while insisting that human activity had made matters worse.
“There are man made factors,” he said.
Torrential rain on Aug. 15 submerged vehicles and disrupted traffic in several parts of Abuja, including Wuse 2, Gudu and Lokogoma. Flooding around the bridge linking Gaduwa and Durumi also left motorists stranded.
No official casualty or displacement figures from the latest flooding were immediately available.
Abuja has struggled with serious flooding before. Communities including Lokogoma, Galadimawa, Lugbe and Trademore Estate have repeatedly been affected, keeping drainage and development control on the city’s agenda.
Some incidents have been deadly. In 2019, Tony Okecheme, then a director of finance at the FCT High Court, died after his vehicle became trapped in floodwaters around Galadimawa.
Wike has now instructed the FCT Development Control Department to move ahead with the latest enforcement exercise.
“Thank God the flood has come. It has drawn our attention to the place,” he said. “Any house that’s found on the water channel will go down.”
Removing buildings that obstruct waterways may ease some of the immediate problems, but Abuja faces a bigger task. Drains will have to be kept clear, waste better managed and development rules consistently enforced as the city continues to grow.
The real test will come with the next heavy rains and whether the measures being taken now are enough to keep the water moving and residents out of harm’s way.
