Wike orders arrest, demolition over illegal construction on

From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has ordered the arrest of a developer and the demolition of buildings illegally erected on plots of land reserved for foreign missions in the Diplomatic Zone, Katampe Extension, Abuja.

Wike gave the directive on Thursday, during an inspection tour of on-going projects across the FCT, describing the encroachment as “a flagrant abuse of due process.”

“This land was allocated to various embassies. Somebody just came here, took the land and started developing it on his own without approval from the FCDA. We cannot allow this kind of land invasion to continue,” Wike told journalists at the site.

The minister said that the affected land was originally allocated on March 18, 2008, to 10 embassies for diplomatic residential purposes, while a portion was reserved for the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) for a 132/133KV power station.

According to him, embassies of Thailand, Bulgaria, Syria, Somalia, Serbia and Montenegro, Japan, Austria, Switzerland, Senegal, and the Palestine Liberation Organisation were issued allocations within the Diplomatic Zone.

He disclosed that the FCT Administration had begun notifying the missions to take possession of their respective plots.

Wike further confirmed that the suspected developer, identified as Alhaji Kabiru Sahara, had been arrested and would soon face prosecution.

Wike instructed the Department of Development Control to immediately remove all illegal structures on the reclaimed plots, stressing that the FCT Administration would not tolerate any breach of its development regulations.

During the tour, the minister also inspected several major infrastructure projects, including the redesigned Abuja City Gate, the expansion of the Bill Clinton Drive from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to Tunga Madaki (with an extension to Zuba), and the road linking Baze University, Nile University, the Body of Benchers complex, and the Wupa Light Rail Station in Idu.