Security agents attached to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), enforcement taskteam yesterday arrested two suspected land grabbers – Yusuf Garba Ibrahim alias Baba Khalifa and Pastor Prophet Emmanuel Ayisa – for masterminding illegal sale of land around Kado and Jahi Districts of Abuja.
Secretary, Command and Control of the FCTA, Peter Olumuji, said some persons had asked owners and occupants of illegal structures in the area to contribute money to escape demolition of their structures. He added that the Commissioner of Police has ordered an investigation and prosecution if they are found guilty.
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He said: “Prosecution will serve as lesson and deter others still involved in defrauding people who are victims of demolition in the area. This is something the FCT Administration will never tolerate.”
But Ibrahim, who refuted the allegations, said he didn’t collect money from anybody to enrich himself. “The money was given to the Gbagy people who own the cashew plantation in the area. The land I sold to them to build, the money collected was to pay compensation to Gbagy people for the place they built”.
When asked if he was serving as an agent to Gbagy people, he said: “Yes, they own this place and the cashew belongs to them.
“I just joined them recently, so they are paying the money to them for cashews (economy trees), not for any other issue,” he said.
Pastor Ayisa, who was allegedly fronting for FCTA, also denied collecting money to bribe FCT officials.