House Investigates ‘Fraudulent Land Documents’ Issued Before Wike’s Appointment

*Demands deployment of more emergency response specialists to rescue trapped miners 

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The House of Representatives resolved to launch an investigation into the suspected fraudulent allocation of land documents in Abuja before the appointment of the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
The decision of the House followed the adoption of a motion moved at the plenary on Thursday by Hon. Jonathan Gbefwi.
In another development, the House also called on the Ministry of Solid Minerals to deploy more emergency response specialists to rescue trapped miners at the Galadiman Kogo mining site in Shiroro Local Government Area, Niger State without further delay

The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance moved at the plenary on Thursday by Hon. Ismail Modibo.
Presenting the motion on suspected fraudulent allocation of land, Hon. Jonathan Gbefwi said by virtue of Section 297 of the Constitution, the ownership of all lands in the FCT is vested in the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He explained that Section 302 of the Constitution provides, inter alia, that the President may, in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by Section 147 of the Constitution, appoint for the FCT, Abuja, a Minister who shall exercise powers and perform such functions as may be delegated to him by the President, from time to time.

Gbefwi added that President Bola Tinubu was sworn in on Monday 29th May 2023, marking the start of the four-year term as President and Kashim Shettima as Vice President.
The lawmaker stressed that Wike assumed office as the FCT Minister on the 21st of August 2023.
He lamented that several land title documents were fraudulently allocated while the FCT Minister position was vacant.
Gbefwi wondered if the Director of Lands or any official of the FCDA, who issued R of O’s, purportedly in the name of the Minister of FCT, at the period when the office of the Minister was vacant, have the legal right or authority to do so.

He expressed concern that some of the lands affected were subject to litigation which were yet to be resolved.
The lawmaker regretted that some of the beneficiaries of these alleged fraudulent allocations are already using them to forcibly grab disputed land which is a recipe for conflicts.

He said if the title document of any land was fraudulently issued or procured, whatever is built on it should not stand in the interest of the public.
The lawmakers who observed that some of the land documents have been backdated, unanimously resolved that all such lands which are subject to litigation or multiple allocations, should be identified and their allocation withdrawn by the Minister pending the resolution of the matter.

The House, therefore, referred the motion to the House Committee on FCT and report back within four weeks, for further legislative action.
Meanwhile, the House laid the report on the capital expenditure supplementary Appropriation bill of N98.500 billion for the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
The breakdown of the N98.500 billion showed that the sum of N48.500 billion is for Engineering Services, FCDA; N18 billion is for FCT Education Secretariat; N16 billion for Public Building; and N16 billion for the Department of Transportation.

Moving the motion on urgent rescue of trapped miners, Hon. Modibo recalled that on Monday, 3rd June 2024, over 100 miners working with a mining entity called Africa Minerals and Logistics Company Ltd were trapped within a Rocky Mining Pit.
He said all efforts to rescue the victims are in vain, necessitating immediate federal government intervention.

The lawmaker revealed that both State and Federal Distress Response teams were already at the collapsed mining pit.
Modibo expressed concern over the report of the death of many miners during the rescue operations.
He decried the lack of adequate safety measures and emergency equipment by the mining companies, which he said have led to this unfortunate situation.
The lawmaker stressed the need for the deployment of more Special Rescue Experts to the site to prevent the victims from further loss of life.
The House resolved: “Call the Ministry of Solid Minerals to deploy more Emergency Response Specialists to the mining and successful rescue operations. site without delay, for effective

“Urge the House Committee on Solid Minerals to investigate the operational eligibility of Africa Minerals and Logistics Company Ltd, and also the underlying causes of this calamity and to review current mining safety regulations.”