Kebbi State commissioner for lands and housing, Muhammad Dangi-Juli, on Thursday ordered the suspension of two members of staff of the ministry involved in illegal land grabbing and sales in order to allow investigation into the matter.
He gave the order on Thursday while presenting the officials before newsmen in his office in Birnin Kebbi following a complaint about land racketeering at Aliero Quarters in Birnin Kebbi.
He said: “It came to our notice that some people are into land racketeering in certified government lands, these lands have certificates duly issued by government. It is very unfortunate that these people have gone as far as issuing fake letters of grant to their customers.”
He warned that government would not tolerate anything that would tarnish its image.
He lamented that cases of land miss-dealings were rampant in the ministry, especially affecting orphans, aged and less-privileged persons, hence the need for stiffer measures to curb the menace.
The principal suspect, Nasiru Ibrahim said he was into land business for over a year now, assuring that there were some workers of the ministry involved in the matter.
He revealed that the letters of grant identified as fake were signed by one of the staffers of the ministry called Augie.
Giving his own version, Nafi’u Mohammed, the buyer of the land, said he was not part of those who sub-divided the land, but was only called to buy the property.
He said he was convinced to purchase the land from Nasiru Ibrahim, who claimed that the land belonged to his father, at the cost of N10 million, saying, “I am not a land grabber.”
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