Court orders arrest of trespassers on Senator Braimoh’s Abuja property

By Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

A court in Abuja has ordered police authorities to arrest trespassers on plots of land belonging to Senator Yisa Braimoh from Edo North Senatorial district.

Judge Abubakar Muhammed of the Grade One Area Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Lugbe gave the order in a ruling on an ex-parte motion by Braimoh’s lawyer, E. Jatto.

Judge Muhammed, in the September 9, 2020 ruling, a copy of which The Nation sighted on Sunday, also ordered that any person found trespassing into the plots of land nos; 897, 898 and 899 situated at Cadastral Zone B01, Gudu district of the FCT should be arrested by the police.

The Judge equally restrained a construction company, China Geo-Engineering Corporation (EGC Nig. Limited), whether by itself, it’s servants, privies, agents or any other persons howsoever described from trespassing/interfering with, encroaching or dealing in any manner whatsoever with the said landed properties, pending the determination of the motion on notice.

The case, marked: CV/M/196/2020 has China Geo-Engineering Corporation (CGC Nig. Ltd) as the sole defendant.

Court documents revealed that the said plots were purchased by Senator Braimoh some years ago in the name of his company, Hotel Broadway Limited, while plot 898 was dully allocated to him with Statutory rights of Occupancy (R&O) by the then Minister of the FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed and dated December 14, 2010.

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While two of the plots; numbers 897 and 899 were procured by the plaintiff in 2008 at over N240m, the third contiguous plot no: 898 was allocated to him by the then Minister of the FCT, Senator Bala Muhammad.

The three plots have Certificate of Occupancy issued on them and fully paid for to Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) of the Federal Capital Development Agency (FCDA).

Although the said plots were bought and allocated to his company some years ago, development could not take place owing to the presence of illegal squatters including FCT indigenes, artisans who had erected illegal structures on the properties.

The plaintiff said all lawful efforts by him and other adjoining plots owners with the authorities of the Federal Capital Development Agency (FCDA) and Federal Capital Administration (FCTA) since 2008 to eject the squatters failed.

The plaintiff had in a letter addressed to the Director, Resettlement and Compensation Department, FCDA and dated April 22, 2013, requested “for Executive intervention for the immediate removal of illegal squatters from plots 897, 898 and 899 in Gudu District B01, Abuja.”

In the said letter, the Senator had prayed the Director of Settlement, “to take all and appropriate actions to enable him take possession of his landed properties, plots 897, 898 and 899, and commence immediate development of same.”

The plaintiff attached to the letter receipts of payment for Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) of the three plots of land including the FCT Ministers’ approval of May 18, 2011 to the Director, Development Control for the removal of illegal squatters in plots 897, 898 and 899.

Another letter was sent to the Department of Development Control, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) on March 13, 2017.