The House of Representatives on Thursday decided to investigate allegations of fraudulent allocation of title documents to certain real estate developers.
This decision came after the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance proposed by Mr. Jonathan Gbefwi, the representative for Karu/Keffi/Kokona Federal Constituency in Nasarawa State.
In his motion, Gbefwi highlighted concerns about the issuance of several title land documents in the Federal Capital Territory prior to the appointment of Nyesom Wike as the Minister of FCT by President Bola Tinubu in August 2023.
He noted that these documents were allocated to real estate developers “in a highly suspicious manner.”
Gbefwi stated, “The House wonders if the Director of Lands or any official of the Federal Capital Territory Development Administration issued the Right of Occupancy, purportedly in the name of the Minister of FCT, at the period when the office of the Minister was vacant, have the legal right or authority to do so.”
He further expressed concerns about ongoing litigations related to some of the affected lands, noting, “The House is concerned that some of the lands affected were subject to litigations which were yet to be resolved.”
Gbefwi also emphasized the potential for conflict arising from these allocations, saying, “We are disturbed that some of the beneficiaries of these alleged fraudulent allocations are already using them to forcibly grab disputed land which is a recipe for conflicts.”
He concluded by underscoring the need for public interest in addressing fraudulent land allocations: “We are convinced that if the title document of any land is fraudulently issued or procured, whatever is built on it should not stand in the interest of the public.”
Following the resolution of the House, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who presided over the plenary, directed the Committee on FCT to “Investigate all allocations of land in the name of the Minister of FCT, Abuja, given from January to August 2023.”
Additionally, the House resolved, “That all such lands which are subject to litigation or multiple allocations should be identified and their allocation withdrawn by the Minister pending the resolution of the matter.”
The committee has been given four weeks to report back to the House with their findings.