THE Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) said it would establish zonal offices to curb land racketeering and indiscriminate sale or purchase of land by residents.
This was disclosed by the Mandate Secretary, Area Service Council Secretariat, Ibrahim Dantsoho, who said in an interview with journalists in Abuja that graded chiefs in the FCTA had been prohibited from selling land.
“I want to use this medium to tell those in the FCT to meet those in charge of land as the administration has an approved way in consideration of zonal office to curtail indiscriminate sales and purchase of land in FCT.
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“FCTA is on top of the situation as some of the chiefs had been relieved of their titles and others suspended because of the act. So, I am telling you that the administration is not taking this lightly, we don’t encourage this, and there is a severe punishment for anyone found wanting,” he said.
He also said chiefs and other residents who indulge in the act would be made to deal with the resulting legal implications.
The ICIR had reported that many residents of the FCT had been stranded after losing homes and property to demolition due to the illegal acquisition of land.
The FCTA has described buildings erected on illegally acquired land as aberrations of the city’s master plan, thus demolition has become a regular occurrence within the territory.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.