Housing Authority Warns Against Illegal Occupation

The Rivers State Housing Authority (RSHA) has issued a warning to the public against individuals who are in the habit of illegally occupying houses owned by the authority.
The Secretary and solicitor to RSHA, Thomas Adoga, issued the warning shortly after the authority embarked on an eviction exercise of illegal occupants of both completed and uncompleted houses at Iriebe Housing Estate near Port Harcourt, Thursday.
Adoga noted with dismay, saying, “it beats me how anyone will just occupy buildings they donot own and have not indicated interest  way of applying that they would want to own such buildings”.
He warned that anyone engaged in illegal occupation of any building belonging to the authority should as a matter of urgency vacate without delay and desist from such acts, emphasizing  that the authority would henceforth prosecute defaulters as trespassers.
According to him, “the authority frowns at illegal occupation and would charge defaulters to a competent court of jurisdiction and such persons would not only have their properties destroyed or  seized, but would also be rendered homeless by the time the law swoops in on them”.
Adoga went on to say that, illegal occupants are careless about the buildings they occupy and are also “very destructive”.
He noted, the buildings, most of which would soon be inspected and put up for sale to the public would have lost their value with these illegal occupants in them, saying that every item destroyed in the buildings would have to be replaced, “and that costs money”.
The authority’s scribe also hinted that the raids on illegal occupants would continue until all “our houses are rid of these illegal occupants”.

Tonye Nria-Dappa