The Department of Development Control in Abuja has sought collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to combat the increasing activities of land grabbers and unapproved development in the Federal Capital Territory.
This was disclosed in a post on the official X handle of the EFCC, on Friday, February 16.
The Director of the Department, Mukhtar Usman Galadima made this call when he led a delegation of other senior officials of the department on a courtesy visit to the Abuja corporate headquarters of the EFCC on Thursday, February 15 2024.
Galadima noted that there is an upsurge in the case of land grabbing and unapproved development within the FCT, and the department cannot fight it alone.
“We are here specifically to seek collaboration in view of the fact that the Commission is for the fight against economic and financial crimes.
“In recent times, there is an upsurge in the case of land grabbing and unapproved development, and from the look of things, it is a well-coordinated syndicate which I believe, we alone as a department cannot fight effectively.
“That is why we came to you as the number one fighter against financial crimes in the country so that we can collaborate to fight these ever-increasing criminal activities,” he said. In his response, EFCC’s Executive Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede who spoke through the Secretary to the Commission, Mr Mohammad Hammajoda assured the delegation of the Commission’s willingness and readiness to do its utmost in all the areas that fall within its mandate in tackling the scourge.
“The issue you raised about the increasing trend of forgery of land documents and impersonation of original allottees is both worrisome and scary because of the endemic nature it has assumed at the FCT. “It might interest you to know that we have a Property and Land Fraud Unit, dedicated to the city’s real estate matters, domiciled, not within our office complex but at the FCDA for the strategic reason of fighting from the theatre of war.
“Outcomes from the officers of that unit have been tremendous, yet we are ever ready and willing to do more in whichever area that falls within our mandate”, he said. The EFCC’s Director of Operations, Abdulkarim Chukkol on his part, urged the delegation to help the Commission with intelligence to take decisive actions against real estate fraudsters in the city and reassured them that the Commission was open to the intervention and collaboration they sought.
FCT agency seeks EFCC’s intervention to combat land grabbing
