Property Dispute: BOBA Stakeholders Seek Elders’ Intervention

Some members of the Barewa College Old Boys Association, BOBA, have called on elders and other prominent Nigerians, who are alumni of the college, to intervene in the crisis rocking the 86-year-old association.

According to them, the interventions are needed to save the college and the association’s name from being pointlessly dragged in the mud.

For about 20 years now, BOBA has been involved in a land dispute with a firm, Eagle Aluminium Limited.
BOBA has already secured a court order against Eagle Aluminium to stop further construction on the disputed land located in the Central Area of the Federal Capital Territory.

The land, which was in the trust of General Yakubu Gowon’s led Board of Trustees, was purportedly re-allocated to a property firm sometime in 2007. Two years later, the same plot of land was re-allocated to Eagle Aluminium Limited, belonging to Mr Linus Ukachukwu. All of these were unknown to the BOBA board of trustees.

However, Professor Ahmed Mora, the former secretary-general of the association who served for nine years, sustained the intervention, restoring the land title to BOBA on 14 July 2020.

The land was ostensibly revoked in 2005 by the FCDA. This was before Prof Mora became the secretary general, and BOBA itself was not aware of the revocation at the time. Prof Mora was appointed secretary-general of BOBA in December 2012.

The correspondence with Eagle Aluminium started in 2013, and seven years later, the land was restored to BOBA when Prof Mora was still secretary general.

The president of BOBA, Engr Dahiru Ibrahim and secretary general Prof Mora, wrote a letter of appreciation to the Minister of the FCT for the restoration of the land.

In the letter signed by Alhaji Dahiru IIbrahim, president of the association and Prof Mora, dated 23rd July, 2020, with reference number: BOBA/FCT-Min/Land, BOBA said, “We refer the Honouratle Minister of the FCT to the letter dated 14th July, 2020 by the Barewa Old Boys: Association – (BOBA)(Ref.No:MISC 3183) regarding above.

‘The National Executive Committee {BOBA) fully and sincerely appreciate the efforts of the Honourable Minister of the FCT by authorising for the restoration of Right of Occupancy over Plot No: 291 to BOBA within Central Area (A0O} as indicated in your letter under reference. In view of this development, Alhaji Sani Idris Mailafiya, the 2nd Assistant Secretary General of BOBA is hereby authorised to collect the original document (s) and/or such other items from your office on behalf of the Association”.

Also, in a letter to the Inspector-General of Police, dated September 21, 2023, with reference number: BOBA/BoT/IGP, a member of the Board of Trustees of BOBA, Dr Umaru Abdulmutallab, said the National Executive Council of the association has no jurisdiction over any land matters that belong to the association.

He extoled the virtues of Professor Mora, describing him as one of the longest serving secretarys general, who served meritoriously and moved the association to an enviable height.

He said in the letter, “Flowing from (a) above therefore, issues pertaining to land matters, specifically Plot No:291 under consideration which was allocated to BOBA within Central Area (AOO) District, Abuja, is within the constitutional jurisdiction of the BoT of BOBA and not the National Executive Committee (NEC).

“It is worthy of note that universally, the duties of a Secretary to an ordinary Association slightly differ from those of a Secretary to a Cooperative Society, which is more encompassing and bags more responsibility than an ordinary conventional Association.

“The letters written by Professor Ahmed Tijjani Mora, mni, the Secretary General of BOBA to Eagle Ajuminium Industries Ltd in 2013 cannot at all be said to be with the intention to defraud the Association. Prof. Mora was the Secretary of the BoT when he served as the Secretary General of BOBA from December 2012 to July 2021. At any rate, the Plot of land (No:291) under consideration, which was revoked by the relevant authority (FCT) in 2005, was restored to BOBA by the FCDA in 2020.

“In view of the above therefore, the BoT of BOBA has resolved that the land issue in contention is that of the external person who impersonated as a BoT member and the lady who claimed to be a lawyer representing BOBA. Prof. Mora cannot by any stretch of the imagination be said to be a party to the fraudulent activities of the duo.”

Alh. AbdulMutallab is the immediate past President of BOBA, having served from 2008 to 2012 and from 2012 to 2017, period of nine unbroken years of dynamic leadership to the association.