Developers worry over rising land grabbing in FCT

The Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria has decried the spate of land grabbing in the Federal Capital Territory, saying it has assumed a worrisome dimension.

According to REDAN, it is causing untold hardship to genuine landowners and destroying the original master plan of the city.

The President of the Association, Aliyu Wamakko, speaking during a press briefing recently, claimed that the spate of online land scams in the FCT has made many innocent people to be evicted from their homes and forced to forfeit their land.

The association also distanced itself from the activities of land grabbers, urging residents of the FCT to be wary of the activities of the fraudsters.

He said: “The attention of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria has been drawn to online publications with respect to land-grabbing syndicates in the Federal Capital Territory. These are people that encroach on land that do not belong to them with impunity.

“A recent case was the ugly incident where seven suspects were arrested within Guzape II over land racketeering, who are bent on grabbing lands that do not belong to them. There are other pockets of cases where land grabbing cases occur.

“As a self-regulatory organisation for real estate and organised real estate firms in the business of housing and estate development nationwide, we, hereby, state emphatically and categorically that we detest such anomalies.”

The association expressed concern that the land grabbers were disrupting the Abuja Master Plan.

“It will interest our audience in knowing that the majority of the land grabbers are not members of REDAN. This is because they do not want to be subjected to the Code of Membership of REDAN,” he said.

Wamakko advised that anyone who was interested in getting land should procure it genuinely by approaching the government or the owners.

He said REDAN had often asserted that it had zero tolerance for any member/s involved in any form of unethical dealings in the business of housing development.

“Accredited members found to be involved in any messy transaction would be brought to book, as we shall not harbour or condone any land grabber or racketeers in compliance with extant laws on money laundering and Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit.

“Members should note that any established deviant behaviour shall be met with a stiff sanction, which may involve removal from the registry of REDAN and blacklisting, and such report escalated to government agencies for information, record, and further action,” he said.