The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NHRC

  • The Chimes’ controversy

    Wonders will never cease! Every other day, Nigerians are treated to different dimensions of news emanating from virtually everywhere – in the polity, on the economic sphere, in religious circles, market environment, beer parlours and other innocuous places. The government houses scattered all over the 36 states of the federation, where the almighty governors hold sway, are also not immune to shocking revelations. Usually, the items of news coming from these government houses are stories about extravaganzas, arbitrary use of power and other forms of recklessness.

    Today, there is a novel dimension to the news oozing out from the Government House in Enugu, South-east of Nigeria. Here, the news borders on man’s inhumanity to a woman. And the dramatis personae in this melodrama are no other persons than the Number One citizen of the state, Sullivan Chime, and Clara, his wife of five years. Since the news broke out about a fortnight ago, it has continued to spread like a festering sore.

    The kernel of the story, which is now in public domain, is the call by Chime’s wife to be rescued from detention right inside the Government House, Enugu. The wife had, through a petition to the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, cried out to be saved from her husband. She accused the governor of an abusive relationship that has led to her suffering from depression. The governor, she added, has locked her up in a room and denied her access to her four-year-old son and visitors. In the same vein, Femi Falana, her lawyer, also sent a letter to the Inspector General of Police, demanding the immediate release of Mrs. Chime from unlawful custody.

    According to the petitions, the governor’s wife said though she had been married for five years, “it has been a somewhat tempestuous relationship, which has virtually irretrievably broken down in the past couple of years”. She said, “We do not have a relationship anymore and the situation inevitably led to my nervous breakdown. I have been diagnosed with severe depression and at some point, was quite suicidal. The strategy of my estranged husband is to subject me to the most horrific and intolerable of conditions to cause my demise but my strength and will to live has kept me alive”.

    The governor’s wife went on to enumerate the major issues as follows: “Not had sexual relationship with my husband for four years; deprived of all my responsibilities as a wife; prevented from bonding with my four-year-old son; barred me from receiving visitors, whether family or friends; in the last three weeks, a lady friend who visited me was stopped from seeing me and the result is now complete incarceration from the outside world; in effect, I am locked up in my bedroom, without access to anybody; I am only allowed food but no access to fresh air; I have been locked up because I demanded to leave, even without my son; Governor Chime recently revoked my land allocation; the governor is doing everything possible to break my will”.

    Furthermore, the estranged woman said: “All I want and demand is to be allowed to leave; if I have committed any crime, I request that due process should be followed; I am falsely being imprisoned; all my rights are being violated; I have tried to leave and was pushed back by the security agents; and it is clear I am unable to do so except through other intermediaries; my passionate plea is to be allowed to leave peacefully as I no more wish to exist under this prevailing state. In the event that I die, please note that this must have been brought about by my husband. I wish to make it categorically clear that I have no intention of taking my own life. I have completely lost trust in my estranged husband; the possibility of the doctor injecting me with a lethal substance must never be underestimated; I am begging you to help facilitate my release and bring my suffering and ordeal to an end.”

    She claimed that even President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience, have intervened in the matter without convincing her husband to make life easier for her. She continued: “My father is late, my mom and few of my siblings are confused and have done all kinds of prayers they know of; three of my siblings prefer me dead than to see me leave the Government House.  He treats my mom and my siblings bad.”

    In his own reaction, an unperturbed Chime has vowed to continue to protect the integrity of his wife. According to him, “well, my wife has some medical challenges and it would be very unkind for me to talk about her condition on the pages of newspapers. I have done everything to protect her integrity and I am not now going to expose her to ridicule because some people want to exploit her situation to drag me into a needless war of words”.

    The controversy between Chime and his wife seems to have become an open-ended war between the couple on the one hand, Chime and Falana on the other hand, as well as, Chime’s wife and the NHRC. While Chime, who is also a lawyer, is contesting that his wife never contacted Falana for help, Falana has maintained that he has the woman’s brief to act on her behalf. Also, Chime’s wife has kicked against a recent report which was attributed to the NHRC to the effect that she was indeed suffering from “depression and hallucination”. This has prompted the human rights body to dissociate itself from the report at the last minute although the body did not refute the story when it first broke out.

    All indications point to the fact that there is more to this story than meets the eye. It is clear that Chime’s wife has been passing through unpleasant moments in her chequered relationship with her governor-husband. She has bared it all. What I think the husband has been trying to do is to embark on frenetic damage control to save his battered public image. For one, assuming the wife is actually depressed or having some psychological nightmares, the best place to treat a patient, whether of malaria or any other illness, is the hospital purposely built for such, and not the Government House. And the fact that some doctors allegedly connived with the governor to put the woman in ‘detention’ in the Government House smacks of suspicion and other ulterior motives.

    From the little information I was able to piece together from Enugu, the governor may have been economical with the truth. His lifestyle, which is said to be less than honourable and perhaps, unbecoming of a person occupying such a sensitive position, may have, in one way or another, contributed to his wife’s state of the mind. The governor is rumoured to have an insatiable appetite for frolicking with women and drinking in hotels in the coal city. He is said to be gifted with excellent dancing steps so much that, on a good day, he provides enough fun whenever he takes to the floor doing yahooze, azonto or skelewu dancing steps. This, they say, he relishes doing sometimes with six, eight or more girls in tow.

    If this is true, what follows each session of wining, erotic dance steps with women and all that, is a matter of conjecture. And the wife could easily be turned into a punching bag thereafter.  Here lies the crux of the matter. Therefore, there is the urgent need to get to the root of this problem. The talk about divorcing the woman, which is now uppermost in the mind of Chime and his collaborators, cannot provide a safety valve to wriggle out of this embarrassment. At any rate, Chime should not only toe the path of honour by taking his wife to any good hospital for adequate treatment, he should also do a comprehensive self-appraisal to see if there are some of his actions that may have caused the woman severe depression. This remains a shameful and condemnable act!

  • Chime’s wife stirs fresh controversy

    Chime’s wife stirs fresh controversy

    •Says I’m victim of a crime

    •Demands retraction of NHRC’s health statement

    •Commission’s chairman clarifies position

    THE wife of the Enugu State governor, Mrs. Clara Chime, yesterday joined issue with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on its handling of her petition about her ordeal in Government House, Enugu.

    She faulted the Commission for denying that she was “illegally confined” and ”subjected to some form of ill-treatments” by the governor.

    The NHRC’s pronouncement on her state of health did not also sit well with her and she accused it of misleading the public on her true state of health.

    But the commission defended itself in a statement by its Chairman, Professor Chidi Odinkalu.

    He said at no time did the Commission make any pronouncement on Mrs. Chime’s health condition since its investigation team to Enugu did not include medical experts.

    Media reports had quoted the team leader as saying Mrs. Chime suffers from depression and hallucination.

    In two letters written to the NHRC Chairman yesterday through her lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), Mrs. Chime expressed disappointment to “read what has been narrated by the Human Rights Commission.”

    “Apart from the fact that the information was largely false, it showed lack of sensitivity in publishing sensitive medical detail,” she said.

    This, according to her, “has the effect of tarnishing and damaging my reputation. It is as though the Commission set out to ridicule me.

    “I made it clear to them that I had a nervous breakdown and found it inexplicable as to how hallucinations featured as part of my symptoms.

    “It is important to make this clear so that the public should be made aware of this and that the Commission should recognise part of her ethos in protecting human dignity.

    “It has been suggested by some quarters that the Commission appears biased already because of the profile of the person whose reputation is at stake.

    ”I want to believe that the Commission would approach my case with open mind and in particular recognise me as a victim of crime.

    “I hope that common sense would prevail and that the Commission should now retract the damaging publication and stop stigmatising me,” she said.

    The NHRC Chairman said: “As a practice, cases and complaints received by the Commission are processed in accordance with the National Human Rights Commission Act (as amended) and with the Standing Orders and Rules of Procedure of the Commission.

    “Having carefully reviewed the work so far undertaken by the staff of the Commission, I find no basis in them for the claims or speculation widely circulated in the media that the Commission has pronounced on the state of health, physical or mental, of the complainant or indeed of any other party in this case.

    “The Commission takes seriously its responsibility to fully respect the confidentiality of parties before it and to reach its decisions only on the basis of law and evidence.

    “I should clarify that the team that the Commission sent to Enugu did not include any medical personnel. It had neither a mandate nor the expertise to pronounce on such matters and has clearly not done so. This is evident on the face of the statement by the Executive Secretary.”

    He said allegations that the Commission “may have been compromised in the conduct of the case are both factually inaccurate and manifestly unfounded.”

    Governor Chime had on Tuesday told reporters in Enugu that his wife had health challenges that warranted giving her round- the- clock monitoring and close attention.

    Mrs. Chime was present at the occasion as were her mother, and brother.

    She admitted that she was medically challenged.

     

  • Rights commission, groups seek alternative to death penalty

    The Nigerian government has been asked to review its stand on the issue of death penalty for capital offences.

    The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and some Civil Society Organisations (CSO) made the call in Abuja on Thursday at an event held to mark this year’s World Day Against Death Penalty.

    Speakers at the event queried the rationality for sustaining the death sentence in the nation’s statute book, in the face of a defective justice administration system and poor investigation by the police.

    They urged the government to sustain the existing moratorium on death penalty if it was yet to device an alternative means of punishing people convicted for capital offences.

    The event was jointly organised by the NHRC, Lawyers Without Borders – Avocats Sans Frontieres (ASF) and Access to Justice.

    The Executive Secretary, NHRC, Prof. Bem Angwe, contended that since the nation’s Constitution guaranteed the right to life, the pronouncement of death penalty on offenders should be placed under review.

    Angwe, who was represented by an officer of his commission, Murphy Okwa, suggested a review of the law on death penalty on a case-to-case basis.

    “That is, in the case of an armed robbery that does not result in death, the state should consider the use of other sentencing in place of death penalty.”

    “This is given the fact that the criminal justice system has flaws, which need to be amended,” he said.

    Head of Office, ASF, Angela Uwandu, faulted the practice of sentencing people to death for offences committed as minors.

    She said her organsation has sued the Nigerian government at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court in relation to the case of a nursing mother, Maimuna Abdulmumini sentenced to death by a High Court in Katsina State for the murder offence she committed while she was 13 years.

    Uwandu, who noted that Maimuna was currently imprisoned with her baby, noted that 69 of such babies, incarcerated with their mothers, are currently in the nation’s prisons.

    She urged the Federal Government to initiate measures to improve the living condition of people on death row in the nation’s prison.

     

  • Demolition victims battle over N100m compensation

    Demolition victims battle over N100m compensation

    HOW was the money spent? Was it unduly shared among certain individuals? If so, who are those individuals?

    These are some of the questions the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is asking as some aggrieved ex-residents stormed the Commission entertaining complaints on the matter.

    Some victims of the demolition of Gosa village, Abuja have also been asking those questions since a High Court awarded them N100m compensation after their community was pulled down.

    Rather than providing relief for all concerned, the sharing of the N100m has generated controversy.

    The court had awarded the judgment against the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) for demolishing the houses of the non-indigenes residing in Gosa village along Airport Road, in 2009.

    Since the judgment, there have been allegations and counter-allegations between the persons handling the sharing and the aggrieved non-indigenes.

    The aggrieved members, who claimed they were not given any money from the compensation sum, took the case to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), threatening to exploit all legal options available to them in order to get justice.

    They said executive committee they appointed in 2009 to lead the group has abandoned them and diverted a substantial sum of the compensation money for their selfish and financial gains to the detriment of some members.

    Leading the aggrieved members to NHRC, Mr. Michael Anene said: “My three-bedroom flat bungalow was demolished and I was only paid N30,000 while so many residents having lesser number of rooms got as much as N1.5 million and above.”

    “Many of us here have not even been paid a kobo while there are cases of some residents who were not affected by the demolition getting as much as N1.5 million each.”

    “We were also told that N25 million out of the money was given to FCTA officials. This is a great injustice. We took part in all the contributions to hire the barrister that won the case and now the barrister, whose account the N100 million was paid into, is now conniving with the executives to cheat us. We got information that N40 million is still remaining in his bank account.”

    “Let them come out and show to the whole world how the N100 million they got from the government was shared. It is only then that we will know if they paid money to ghosts. We will not rest until we get justice. All of them are now cruising around with the latest ‘Sienna’ space bus. They have also diverted our money into their various businesses. We are going to exploit all available legal actions on this matter until we get justice and these people are brought to book.”

    But the Secretary of the exco that shared the money, Prince Ajah Felix maintained that many of the aggrieved members opted out of the group when the first court case was lost at High Court in Lugbe in 2009.

    He said: “When we had this problem, we went to court through our lawyer. When we were contributing money, I know all of them. They are members of Gosa Residents Association. That is the name that we went to court with. So when we went to court, we lost the case at Lugbe High Court on the 25th of May, 2009.”

    “Then we went back and called for meeting on the 27th, and many people were aggrieved that we lost the case. Very few people came. We then decided that since we lost the case, we were not going to fold our hands, but try again.”

    “We approached our lawyer and told him we wanted to go further. Then on the 29th of May, we agreed to go to court with another name, Gosa Non-Indigenous Group. We were about eight that started it. Later on, other persons joined us. These people are among the people that refused to join the new group. When we got judgment, they now resurfaced.”

    Confirming the position of the Secretary on the matter, the lawyer that won the N100 million compensation, Barrister Godwin Ogboji, said: “The first time we went to court, the case was lost. It was the second case that was won and the compensation awarded. But many of those non-indigenes who took part in the first case lost interest and did not take part in the second case.”

    But an official of NHRC mediating in the matter, who does not want her name in print, was angry that the Secretary of the exco, Prince Ajah came to the meeting without any document or record to show how members have contributed to the course of the group.

    She said the procedure she wanted to adopt is to first establish those who are really entitled to the money before finding out the criteria used in sharing it.

    She said: “The aggrieved party said they were members of the group and their houses were also damaged and that they don’t understand the criteria for sharing the money as some people who took part in the sharing of the money were not affected by the demolition exercise.”

    “First of all, we want to know those who are entitled to that money, then the criteria used for the sharing. We need to see the records of payment that will show the payments made by members because you cannot say somebody who has been contributing money opted out of the group. It cannot continue to be argument, argument and hearsay, we need records.”

    She continued, pointing at the Secretary: “The reason why we said a member of the executive should come is because we wanted documents and record so that we can be talking with facts. So coming here without any document is not right. You think we are playing here. Whatever we are saying now is sentiments. We want to see the records for us to proceed.”

    Ordering for the details of the home and office addresses of the Secretary to be obtained by her staff, she said: “We have compelling powers, we can arrest, and we have other powers we can exercise at any time. I demand that you give me copies of these transactions by 22nd of August 2013, whether your chairman is in Sokoto or Maiduguri.”

    She also faulted the Secretary’s remark that the first case was taking to court by Gosa Residents Association and not by Gosa Non-Indigenous Legitimate Landlords.

    She maintained that the documents submitted to her earlier by the lawyer who won the judgment showed that the name of the first group that went to court was representing Gosa Non-Indigenous Legitimate Landlords and not the Gosa Residents Association being claimed by the exco that shared the money.

    “So your story is not true.” She stated concerning the change of name, while holding out the document.

    Another NHRC staff queried: “If they say these people opted out, how come some of them were paid some money when they got the judgment sum? Some were given N30,000 compensation.”

    Reacting to the fears by some aggrieved members that the Secretary to the exco that shared the money may tamper with the documents in his possession before producing it at the NHRC, the lawyer of the aggrieved members, Barrister Emmanuel Okpanku said: “It is important for us to warn ourselves here that forgery is a crime. When you forge documents, you will go to Kuje prison.”

    While the two sides have been directed to appear for another meeting on the 22nd of this month, it is hoped that everybody will get justice and fairness at the end of the day.

    Since those seeking to benefit from equity must come with clean hands, it is very paramount for the true financial members of the group to be established because one cannot reap where he did not sow.

    Efforts should not only be made to obtain the detailed records of the group including financial transactions and minutes of meetings right from inception, whether as Gosa Residents Association or Gosa Non-Indigenous Legitimate Landlords, the documents and records should be properly scrutinized for forgery.

    The allegation that the Secretary of the group was suspended for about a year by the exco for altering members’ money contribution lists for financial gains in the past should also be thoroughly looked into to ensure that what is being brought to the table is the true and correct lists of payments by members.

    This case should be made to show to Nigerians, who are yet to know, that fighting corruption is not only with government officials, but also the ordinary man on the street.

    As the exco was said to have settled about 100 ex-residents with the compensation money, investigations into this must go beyond paper work alone by arranging a physical roll call where the aggrieved members will be present to assist in identifying ‘ghost’, ‘hired’ and ‘ineligible’ beneficiaries.

    Anyone found culpable, either in forgery of documents or diversion and misappropriation of any part of the N100 million compensation awarded by the court should be prosecuted and made to face the full wrath of the law.

     

  • Adoke, NHRC Chair, others seek enhanced application of FoI Act

    Justice Minister and Attorney General of the Federation, Mo-hammed Bello Adoke (SAN), the Head of Service, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji and the Chairman, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Prof Chidi Odinkalu have enjoined public servants to be open in handling government affairs.

    They said the growing need for accountability in the conduct of public affairs had made it imperative for public officers to detach themselves from the culture of secrecy brought about by the Official Secret Act.

    They said civil servants must now learn to marry the responsibility imposed on them by the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act with the requirement of secrecy under the Secret Act.

    They spoke in Abuja at a two-day workshop held to examine two years of the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.

    The workshop, which drew participants from the civil society and the public and private sector was organised by a group, the Right to Know

    Initiative (RKI). It had as its theme, “Nigeria’s FoI Act 2011 two years after: Challenges and prospect.”

    Adoke said President Goodluck Jonathan signed the FOI Bill into law in view of his belief in  openness and transparency in the conduct of state affairs.

    The Minister said the reluctance by state officials in government agencies and ministries to utilise the FOIA would frustrate the commitment of the administration to transparency.

    He urged government agencies to appoint information officers who would handle requests for information.

    Aji, who was represented by Dr. Ezekiel Oyemomi said the “reluctance or lack of desire by public officers to shift from a culture of secrecy to one of transparency has also been identified as a militating factor against the implementation of the Act.”

    He said effort were being made by his office and the AGF’s office to encourage and demand that public bodies go beyond servicom and establish FOI units and help line for public use.

    Aji noted that there had been challenges in the implementation of the law.

    He advocated the extension of the time limit for compliance with FoI request from the current seven days to 14. This he said would afford public officers time to comply.

    “The system is not yet fully digitalised to cope with this. It may therefore be necessary to review the time limit. I recommend its review from 7 to 14 days within which information under the Act may be disclosed,” Aji said Odinkalu commended the President Jonathan and the National Assembly for enacting the FOI Bill into law.

    He noted that compliance with and utilisation of the law remained very low.

    Odinkalu said the FOI Act provided a foundation for realizing the constitutional promise of equality and implemented the political declaration in section 14(2)(a) of the constitution that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria.

    Odinkalu said despite the identified challenges, there was  the hope that the FOI Act would produce positive impact in governance in the country.

    RKI’s Chairperson, Dr. Mairo Mandara, who stressed the importance of the FoI Act in the nation’s quest for development, argued that if Nigerians accept and apply the provisions of the Act, the leaders would have no option but to be accountable to the people.

    She argued that  irrespective of one’s status and areas of operation, the FoI Act affords everyone the opportunity to  contribute to the nation’s development

     

  • NHRC summons NAGAFF over invasion

    The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has appeared before the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over an allegation that some military personnel invaded its office in Apapa, Lagos.

    Last week, investigations revealed that some NAGAFF members appeared before the NHRC to give information about the alleged invasion of it’s national headquarters at Apapa, Lagos.

    At the commission’s office, NAGAFF, sources said, alleged that some soldiers invaded its headquarters on the orders of a Deputy Comptroller of Customs, who was then in charge of the Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU) at the Tin Can Island Port.

    Sources at the Commission said NAGAFF through its solicitor, Larry Okonkwo, in a letter entitled: “Invasion of NAGAFF Headquarters Lagos by 13 Unknown Soldiers at Instance of a Deputy Comptroller of Customs, Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU) Tincan Island Port, Lagos and Threat of Life of Dr. Boniface and other Officers of NAGAFF,” had petitioned the senior Customs officer over her alleged role in the invasion and subsequent alleged threats to the lives of Aniebonam and other NAGAFF members.

    The Commission said in the invitation letter to NAGAFF, a copy of which was sighted by The Nation, that the request to appear of before the Commission was based on the human rights issue, raised by the NAGAFF’s lawyer.

  • NHRC summons NAGAFF over invasion

    The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has appeared before the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over an allegation that some military personnel invaded its office in Apapa, Lagos.

    Last week, investigations revealed that some NAGAFF members appeared before the NHRC to give information about the alleged invasion of it’s national headquarters at Apapa, Lagos.

    At the commission’s office, NAGAFF, sources said, alleged that some soldiers invaded its headquarters on the orders of a Deputy Comptroller of Customs, who was then in charge of the Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU) at the Tin Can Island Port.

    Sources at the Commission said NAGAFF through its solicitor, Larry Okonkwo, in a letter entitled: “Invasion of NAGAFF Headquarters Lagos by 13 Unknown Soldiers at Instance of a Deputy Comptroller of Customs, Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU) Tincan Island Port, Lagos and Threat of Life of Dr. Boniface and other Officers of NAGAFF,” had petitioned the senior Customs officer over her alleged role in the invasion and subsequent alleged threats to the lives of Aniebonam and other NAGAFF members.

    The Commission said in the invitation letter to NAGAFF, a copy of which was sighted by The Nation, that the request to appear of before the Commission was based on the human rights issue, raised by the NAGAFF’s lawyer.

  • Abuja demolition: Falana petitions NHRC

    The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has been urged to conduct an investigation into the recent demolition of Minanuel Investment Limited’s 372 houses by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to avoid a bridge of the company’s rights.

    Rights activist Femi Falana (SAN), who wrote the seven-paragraph letter stating the company’s position, said the demolition of his client’s houses valued at N2 billion was illegal and unjustifiable.

    He accused the FCDA demolition his client’s properties out of malice even as he maintained that other estates in the area were spared in the selective and discriminatory demolition exercise.

    Citing Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 7 of the African Human Rights Charter, Falana the FCDA violated his client’s right to fair hearing and took the law into its hands as it constituted itself into the complainant, the witness, judge and executioner of its own judgment.

    He said: “Our client is the owner of plots ED 1425, 1427, 1428, 1429 AND 1430 located at Kyami District, Lugbe Extension 1, along Airport Road, Abuja, which were acquired in 2004 from the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).

    “Our client was granted building approval by AMAC. He commenced and has completed the construction of 226 units of two-bedroom semi-detached bungalows and 146 units of three-bedroom detached bungalows on the said plots.

    “Based on the recent purported allocation of our client’s property to the members of the National Assembly, the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory dispatched its armed agents who invaded our client’s estate and demolished the 372 housing units therein from September 29-30.

    “Without the issuance of a stop work order or any notice whatsoever, the Ministry engaged in wanton demolition of the houses which had been completed and ready for occupation by the various subscribers who had paid for the houses.

    “Our client’s properties valued at over N2 billion were destroyed out of malice as other estates in the area have been spared in the selective and discriminatory demolition exercise.”

    Falana said the illegal demolition of his client’s housing estate cannot be justified in view of the case of SERAC vs Federal Republic of Nigeria (2002) where the court upheld an individual’s right to shelter or housing in accordance with Articles 14, 16 and 18(1) of the Charter.

    He therefore urged the NHRC to investigate the circumstance with a view to ensuring that his client’s fundamental rights to fair hearing and property as well as freedom from discrimination are protected.

    However, the Director, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Development Control unit, Yahaya Yusuf, said the houses demolished in the estate were illegal structures

    Yusuff explained that the demolition became inevitable due to the recalcitrant attitude of the estate developer who continued to build on the plot of land based on back dated title documents from AMAC.

    He noted that AMAC allocation stopped being legal documents in 2004 while the building plan approval from AMAC also elapsed in 2006.

    Yusuff said even after an advertisement by the FCTA that developers should stop encroaching on lands meant for other purpose for mass housing, several developers failed to yield.

    His words: “Failure of the estate developers to heed the advertorials prompted the department to commence removal of such illegal structures.

    “We will not condone this act because these buildings are illegal, the developer was not supposed to erect buildings here,” he said.