FG to Arrest, Prosecute Violators of Survey Coordination Act

Emmanuel Addeh

The federal government has vowed to prosecute anyone found to be violating Nigeria’s Survey Coordination Act (SCA) of 1962 and its subsequent amendments.

Surveyor General of the Federation (SGoF), Abudulganiyu Adebomehin, said with a reinvigorated implementation plan, there will be no hiding place for offenders.

“Individuals and groups cannot be allowed to continue to build or install infrastructure, generate geospatial information and data of other critical infrastructure without recourse to OSGoF,” he noted.

Adebomehin was speaking while receiving a team led by the Director of Communications of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to the President, Maj. Gen. Samad  Akesode,  at the Survey House in Abuja.

He lauded President Muhammadu Buhari and the NSA, Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd) for, according to him, taking seriously the issue of the violations of the provisions of the SCA which he said are consequential to Nigeria’ sovereignty.  

The Surveyor General added that his office would commence full implementation and enforcement of the SCA, hence ONSA had deployed a high ranking military officer to work with OSGoF for the success of the operations.

He noted that the move js meant to curb activities inimical to the provisions of the law regulating surveying and geo-informatics in the country.  

While thanking the NSA for his quick response to the general request made by his office, the SGoF appealed for the provision of military personnel for the safety of surveyors and other OSGoF staff during engagements particularly at international boundaries.

 He recalled that the office had lost five employees during attacks at the Nigeria-Cameroun Border about five years ago.