Investigation Uncovers IGPâs Alleged Involvement in Abuja Land Grab Scandal.
A recent investigation has exposed the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, as being complicit in a disputed land grab case in the Guzape area of Abuja, Nigeriaâs capital city and maybe protecting the main perpetrators who appear to be his close allies and business associates.
According to a petition filed on August 18, 2023, by the Yesufu family and Alhaja Colleen Yesufu, the complainants received a suspicious phone call regarding the purported sale of flats on their property in Guzape District. The caller claimed that the developer had shown them a Right of Occupancy and Power of Attorney, allegedly signed by Colleen Mero Yesufu, and that the information was obtained from documents uploaded on the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) website.
Upon further investigation, the Yesufu family discovered that unknown individuals had illegally trespassed on their property and were carrying out aggressive development, offering the same at the carcass stage to unsuspecting buyers. The family also found that their property file at AGIS had been fraudulently altered, with a forged Power of Attorney and other fake documents uploaded in favour of one Rebecce Omokamo Godwin Isaac.
The Yesufu familyâs inquiries at the Development Control Department further revealed that the criminal syndicate had used the forged documents uploaded to the AGIS system to fraudulently apply for and obtain a Building Plan Approval in March 2023, without the consent or authority of the Yesufu family. They also discovered that this same lady is behind four (4) other similar fraudulently developed properties on plots all within the Guzape District with forged title documents targeting mainly aged and elderly citizen with undeveloped plots, who they believed to be too old to fight, or possibly dead.
Notably, the Yesufu family confirmed that they had never put their property up for sale, nor had they begun developing it or contracted any purported developer. They remain in physical custody of the original Statutory Right of Occupancy, Power of Attorney, and all relevant documents.
Despite reporting the incident to AGIS and the Development Control Department, the Yesufu family expressed limited confidence in the investigation and outcome, as they suspected that the âegregious infractions â now a norm in the FCT could not have occurred without the active connivance of some staff or officials within these FCTA agenciesâ. This turned out to be true because despite the purported âWithdrawal of the fradulently acquired Building Plan Approval,â she continued to build without any approval.
An investigations report carried out by the Director of Investigations & Prosecutions of the FCTA General Counselâs Office in respect of Plot No 4022, Guzape District Cadastral Zone AO9, which was recommended demolishing the fradulent structure, subsequently approved by the FCT Minister in January 2024 for full implementation, was sighted by our correspondent. It revealed that In order to have a holistic approach of the facts in issue, a meeting was held on the 12th of September 2023, with Representatives from Department of Development Control, Lands Administration and the Solicitor to the Yesufu family, while the alleged Developer one Rebecca Omokamo Godwin Isaac aka Bilikisu Ishaqu Aliyu and her company Homadil Realty (a 24 month old entity with Billions of Naira worth of developments across the FCT) was absent from the meeting and subsequent meetings.
According to records from the Lands Department, the Plot No 1802 was initially allocated to one Amina Musa Usman of No 19 Sabon Gari Jega Kebbi State, measuring approximately 2221.48sqm at Cadastral Zone A09 Guzape District, covered by Offer of Statutory Right of Occupancy (R of O) dated 18/8/2009 and was duly
accepted on the 14/08/2009.
The plot was later redesignated as Plot No. 4022 due to a boundary adjustment and a Right of Occupancy for Plot No. 4022 duly issued to one Mrs. Colleen Mero Yesufu, who presented a Power of Attorney (POA), purportedly signed by Amina Musa Usman, the original allotee with requisite affidavits and guarantees provided.
Surprisingly, another Power of Attorney (POA) in favour of Rebecca Omokamo Godwin Isaac was also listed on the AGIS system with little corresponding documentary evidence. However, further investigation revealed that this second POA was fake and fradulently captured in the system and could not be verified, as it was registered under a different plot in favour of an Imurat International Limited as far back as 2011.
The representative from the Lands Department confirmed that Amina Musa Usmanâs original allocation is still subsisting and has not been revoked, and the land has not been officially allocated to any other party.
The report concluded that the Development Control should seal the property pending demolition, and the Police be invited to identify the belligerent FCTA staff involved in this violation of the AGIS system.
Incredibly, after the FCT Commissioner of Police at the time ordered the arrest of the trespassers and sealing of the disputed land in line with request of the FCTA Investigations & Prosecutions Directors recommendations on the 17th of November 2023, they were all released within 30mins on the orders of the IGP with no explanation or investigation conducted, whatsoever to date. Most importantly, the brazen and illegal development of this property now without any building approval continued with the clear backing of the IGP.
The Yesufu family, represented by their lawyers, Falana & Falana Chambers, filed several petitions against this Rebecca Omokamo (also known as Bilikisu Ishaqu Aliyu) and her company Homadil Reality Limited, who is allegedly a very close confidant and business ally of Mr
Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector General of Police (IGP). Despite several petitions to the IGPâs office, the IGP and police refused to act, prompting the family to petition the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC commenced an extensive investigation and appears to have unravelled the mystery behind the notorious land grabbers, their modus operandi and accomplices in the various FCTA departments, but the prime suspect, Bilikisu Ishaqu Aliyu aka Rebecca Omokamo, has consistently refused to honour the anti-graft agencyâs invitation. The EFCC subsequently sealed the property in April 2024 but In a desperate attempt to evade the investigation, Bilikisu Ishaqu Aliyu and her husband and business partner along side their Multi-billion Naira Homadil Reaty Limited filed a fundamental rights enforcement action against the EFCC, seeking to restrain the agency from inviting her for questioning.
In their documents filed in court, they claimed to have acquired the Guzape disputed land sometime in 2015, when the couple were still unmarried and barely able to afford a wedding they struggled to undertake from available records.
However, the court ruled that she must submit herself for investigation before the EFCC. Despite the court judgement, she continued to remain in hiding and avoided going to defend her newfound wealthy lifestyle before the EFCC. The worst part of this act of criminality and lawlessness is the developer backed by the Police wiped off all the EFCC markings and has continued to build with absolute impunity and complete disregards for the FCTA, the Courts, the EFCC all because she is an ally and close associate of the IGP.
The investigations also revealed that Bilikisu Ishaqu Aliyu has been using the men and officers of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police Force attached to the IGPâs office in Abuja to harass and intimidate the Yesufu family and their associates.
Furthermore, a journalist from Premium Times who attempted to investigate the matter despite not publishing any story was invited by the police for questioning for daring to call the IGPâs confidant/associate Bilikisu Ishaqu Aliyu, to hear her side of the story.
The Yesufu family have expressed their bewilderment at how an individual can allegedly use the instrumentality of the state funded by tax payers money to harass and intimidate other law abiding citizens, even when the available facts point to their involvement in an obvious fraudulent property scheme.
Efforts to reach Bilikisu Ishaqu Aliyu, aka Rebecca Omokamo, and the office of IGP for comments were unsuccessful at the time of fili ng this report.
culled from Peopleâs Gazette
