News
How FCTA officials uncover fraudulent land racket
Fresh facts have emerged over allegations of racketeering involving a plot of land located at plot 1308 Cadestral Zone, AO9, Guzape district of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.Available title documents showed that the disputed plot 1308 was allocated to Jamila Saleh Hassan (original allotee) on June 6, 2007 by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCTA), with old file No- 1764 and new file No: 20400).
However, Jamila Saleh Hassan’s father, Alhaji Saleh Hassan had after obtaining her consent, later sold the same plot 1308 to Mr. Bako Matunji Chonko as the first buyer at the rate of N6million and handed the title documents to him.
Thereafter, the said Mr. Chonko later sold the plot to Mr. Yakubu Daniel Ogwu at the rate of N25 million and handed over the documents to him bearing the name Jamila Sale Hassan as the original allotee.
However, in 2017, Yakubu Daniel Ogwu discovered that one Sunday Benjamin Egele procured a forged Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) and sold the plot 1308 to one Mr. Cyril Amako of Cona Engineering and Technical Services Limited, who purchased same as an innocent buyer.
Consequently, a letter of complaint dated June 6, 2020, was written to the FCTA authorities by the law firm of Ali Zubairu and Associates, on behalf of Mr. Bako Matunji Chonko, about wrongful collection of C of O in respect of plot 1308, Cadestral Zone, A09, Guzape district, Abuja.
Chonko’s complaint was rooted on his claim that after acquiring the plot of land from the allotee, Jamila Saleh Hassan, he discovered the alleged wrongful collection of the C of O and the fraudulent registration of a Power of Attorney in favour of Sunday Benjamin Egele.
The said letter of complaint was referred to the Head of C of O unit by the Deeds Register.A report by the Head of C of O unit stated among others that “available records from the C of O Vault revealed that the C of O under reference was wrongly released to one Uchechukwu Okike on August 30, 2010 as there was no any formal request from the title holder to release her title to the above mentioned person and neither was there any proof of transfer of title.
“ And that in defiance to laid down proceedings and requirements for collection of C of O, there was no formal authority from the title holder requesting the release of the title to Ukachukwu Okike, no evidence of payment of both ground rent and premium fees, nor any prudent means of ID of the title holder.”
Following the above report from the C of O unit, an administrative caveat was placed on the file on October 2, 2020, pending investigation of all the issues raised as to the wrongful collection of the C of O and the registered Power of Attorney.
On November 6, 2020, a letter was forwarded to the Director Development Control Department, notifying the department of the issues and ongoing investigation.Thereafter, the complaint was referred to the in-house Alternative Dispute Resolution(ADR) Committee for its intervention and possible resolution.
While this was ongoing, the police stepped in following a complaint lodged by Yakubu Daniel Ogwu, who bought plot 1308 from Bako Chonko.Accordingly, a letter from the police reference CR:3000/X/FHQ/ABJ/FSARS/T.F/Vol.59/67 and dated October 14, 2020 was sent to the Department of Development Control, notifying the department of the police investigation of issues relating to the said plot 1308 (A09), Guzape and requesting for information.
It was at this point that another letter dated November 5, 2020, written by Integrity Law firm on behalf of Cona Engineering and Technical Services Nigeria Ltd, was received by the ADR Committee, alleging that the company acquired the subject plot from Sunday Benjamin Egele, obtained building plan approval and has commenced development only to be stopped due to the administrative caveat placed.
The above letter prayed for “urged intervention in resolving the matter to avoid a wilful and irreversible damage” to the company’s investment.
After personal interaction with relevant stakeholders including Jamila Saleh Hassan (the allotee), Ali Zubairu and Co (Solicitor to Bako Chonko), Cona Engineering and Technical Services Ltd and the registered donee- Sunday Benjamin Egele, the FCTA ADR Committee made the following findings that:
“Jamila Saleh Hassan is the original allotee of plot No: 1308 (A09), which was given as a replacement for plot No: 1172 (A09), Guzape;“ Sunday Benjamin Egele (the registered donee) sold the land to Cona Engineering and Technical Services Ltd who proceeded and obtained building approval and commenced work at site. The said acquisition by Cona Engineering has not been registered.
“Cona Engineering and Technical Services claimed being innocent purchaser for value without knowledge of the non-compliance with the prescribed requirements of the department for the registration of the Power of Attorney and collection of the C of O.
The FCTA ADR Committee recommended that the administrative caveat placed on file No: BA 20400 covering plot No: 1308 (A09) Guzape district remains pending the outcome of the police investigation.
That an in-house investigation be carried out to ascertain the persons that processed and registered the Power of Attorney and released the C of O without complying with the prescribed requirements for the purpose of sanction.”Consequent upon the recommendations of the ADR Committee, the Department of Development Control, FCT, in a letter dated October 16, 2020 with reference No: FCDA/DC/BP/RSD/PHSI/23255, by its Director, Mukhtar Galadima, suspended the building plan approval in respect of plot No: 1308 Cadastral Zone AO9, Guzape District, Abuja.
However, another letter from the Department of Development Control, FCT with reference No: FCDA/DC/BP/RSD/PHSI/23255, dated April 29, 2022, by the same Director, Mukhtar Galadima, re-instated the building plan approval, “with effect from that date on the conveyance of building plan approval.”
The letter addressed to Jamila Saleh Hassan, Plot No: 1308, Cad, Zone AO9, Guzape District, Abuja, reads in part: “ This is to refer to our earlier letter dated 16th October 2020 suspending the building plan approval granted you in respect of plot No. 1308, Cad, Zone AO9, Guzape District dated 17th October, 2019.“Consequently, having signed a deed of indemnity agreeing to bear sole responsibility and to indemnify the Department of Development Control in the event of liability arising from or relating to the title of the above mentioned plot especially after withdrawing the suspension of your building plan and the stop work order on the plot, I wish to inform you that the building plan approval is hereby re-instated with effect from the date on the conveyance of building plan approval.”
Meanwhile, the police investigation report on the disputed plot of land, with reference No: CR: 3000/X/FHQ/ABJ/SWAT/T.F/VOL.68/8/ dated 14/04/2023, has established that “Barr.Bako Chonko lawfully bought the land from Barr. Shehu in 2007, at the rate of N6m.“ That one Hajiya Jamila Sale Hassan is the first allotee of plot 1308 located at Guzape, Abuja.
That the Certificate of Occupancy was fraudulently wrongly issued to Sunday Benjamin Egele by the Abuja Geographic Information System(AGIS).
“That the International passport bearing Jamila Sale Hassan was forged by Uchechukwu Okike, Mike Okafor who are currently at large and Sunday Benjamin Egele, bought the land from them, collected the original certificate of Occupancy at AGIS using a fake R of O (Right of Occupancy.“ That Barr. Bako Chonko the second buyer of plot 1308, later sold the land to Yakubu Daniel Ogwu, the complainant at the rate if N25m.
According to the above emerging facts and available documents, officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), particularly the Directors of Land Administration and Development Control had no wrong doing concerning the disputed plot of land, but only played their roles in activating an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism in resolving the dispute.It was equally discovered as a true position that plot 1308 Cadestral Zone, A09, Guzape district, Abuja, actually belongs to Yakubu Daniel Ogwu who was incorrectly refered to in the story as a suspected land speculator.
Land documents and other facts equally showed that sometimes in 2017, the said Yakubu Daniel Ogwu bought plot No.1308 located at Guzape District-Abuja, from Barrister Bako Chonoko who was the first buyer of the land, with all the land documents handed over to him.Further investigation revealed that it was indeed one Sunday Egele who forged the Certificate of Occupancy and later sold the land to one Mr. Cyril Amako as an innocent buyer.In addition, it has been correctly discovered that plot 1308, located at Guzape was actually allocated to Jamila Sale Hassan in 2007 by the Federal Capital Development Authority(FCDA). It was later sold to Bako Chonoko upon her authorization by her father, Alhaji Sale Hassan.
The Lagos State Government has said it would soon arrange a meeting with developers/owners of distressed buildings on how best to address the redesign and remodelling of such structures by November.
This was disclosed recently by the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Oluyinka Olumide, at a function in Alahusa, Lagos.
Olumide said the prevalence of distressed buildings in different parts of the state was worrisome and needed the urgent attention of all stakeholders.
He said, “The Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development as mandated by the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law, 2019, as amended, was willing to extend its responsibility for approving the remodelling of existing buildings to provide technical assistance to developers and owners of distressed buildings, especially on the design and remodelling of such buildings.
The Federal Government has instructed the contractors responsible for the 107km Enugu-Onitsha road dualization to expedite the project.
This directive was given by the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, during a meeting with MTN, the Enugu State Government, and the contractors, RCC Ltd and Nigercat Ltd, on Friday.
According to a statement released on Friday, the minister said he is disappointed over the slow pace of work on the project, he said, “Let me express my disappointment over the slow pace of work on that project. It is one of the worst roads in this country.
“Everywhere we have diversion; diverting from the one that RCC and Nigercat had completed, the contractors are not kind enough to even put stone based on the diversion points.”
He added, “So, by the reason of the launching of our Operation Free our Roads, it is now a violation of the policy on the side of the controllers and directors of the Federal Ministry of Works where we have vehicles falling on any project that is ongoing or where there are potholes on our roads.”
He also blamed the sufferings of road users on the lack of commitment and insensitivity of the contractors.
“The public must know that the President’s intention is not for them to suffer while trying to fix the roads, and it is their right to insist that contractors should fix the roads that they are engaged on,” he said.
The Minister commended the Enugu state government for their resolve to fund the construction of a 20 KM section of the road and expressed hope that MTN would execute the second phase of the project.
He noted, “Why the Enugu State government is intervening is because of the slow pace of work by the contractors and because of funding issues. The essence of tax credit is for funds to be made available. And so, I don’t see RCC going to keep their promise to finish this project in 6 months.
“My advice to MTN is to look for another contractor within that axis if they want to get the job done. Division of labour is even the best. While they are doing the road, and if Nigercat is doing a good job, you can give them greater scope to do if you want to finish that job.”
He warned contractors that the Federal Government would not accept phased handovers of projects and has phased out Variation of Price in contract administration.
The Ekiti State government has intervened to resolve a longstanding land dispute between the Elepe of Epe-Ekiti, Oba Ayodele Adesoye, and the Atolagbe family. The government cautioned against the misuse of modernization as an excuse to disregard traditional customs.
In line with the community’s traditions, the government has ordered the release of resources, including palm trees at Oko Oba Farmland, to Oba Adesoye for his administration. This decision ensures the continued adherence to age-old practices.
Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, announced the resolution in Ado-Ekiti. The decision was made after considering the Elepe’s claim to Oko Oba Farmland based on historical evidence.
Mrs. Afuye acknowledged the Elepe’s right to be the custodian of Oko Oba Farmland, citing longstanding traditions that support his claim. The decision reflects the importance of respecting historical practices and ensuring their preservation.
The deputy governor, however, told the monarch in clear terms that other princes and princesses from all the three ruling houses should be allowed to farm on the land without payment of royalty.
Mrs Afuye appealed to the community to comply with the government’s position to restore unity, peace and orderliness to the beleaguered community.
Oba Adesoye expressed gratitude for the government’s decision and pledged to foster peace and unity between the throne and the community, aiming to accelerate Epe’s development.
Representing the Atolagbe family, Dr. Yemi Agbeleoba acknowledged their willingness to cede Oko Oba Farmland to the monarch. However, he emphasized the need for all three ruling houses to participate for a lasting and traditional solution.
Agbeleoba expressed appreciation for the government’s directive, believing it will contribute to resolving the long-standing conflict.
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