The House of Representatives has directed the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to arrest the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Richard Dauda, over the alleged breach of the building code in the nation‘s capital, Abuja.
Through its Committee on Public Petition, the House also ordered the arrest of Muktar Galadima, the Director of the Department of Development Control in the FCT Administration, and the Director of Regional Planning.
During Thursday‘s proceedings, the committee‘s chairman, Hon. Mike Etaba, said the decision to issue the warrant of arrest for the affected officials was in tandem with the extant provision of the Legislative House Powers and Privileges Act 2017.
The panel directed IGP Egbetekun to not only ensure the arrest of the officials above but also compel them to appear before the committee on March 28, 2025, to explain their role in the committal of the alleged infraction.
The committee‘s chairman explained that he was left with no option but to summon the FCDA officials after they deliberately shunned the summon of the committee on Tuesday and Thursday this week.
Etaba, who later led committee members to conduct an on-the-spot assessment of the building site in Guzape, disclosed that the FCDA officials would indeed be compelled to produce documents required to ascertain the veracity of the petitioner‘s claim.
He said: „We had a petition brought before us by a Nigerian citizen during the investigation. FCDA has refused to come and tender the documents necessary for us to proceed with this investigation. However, we have come to the site where the petition refers.
“We have looked at the building plans, and the engineer on site who we met, known as Mr Emmanuel who we met told the committee that there is no approved building plan with him right now. We have looked at the structure, the landmark, and the cantilever that the complainant, who is a Nigerian, has a right to his security and safety.
“We have looked at it, and we will go back to the committee and ask for more documents, especially the approved plan so that the FCDA can explain the guidelines they gave for this building. We will then be able to determine what is good for this site and let Nigerians living around here have their peace. We are here to do justice to everybody.“
Recall that the committee, at its Tuesday proceedings, adopted the petition on the issue regarding plot AO9399 cadastral zone filed by the chairman of the House Committee on Customs, Hon. Leke Abejide.
Counsel to Abejide, Samuel Ajayi, explained that the petition before the House committee concerned the development of a property in the AO9399 Cadestral zone, which was allegedly contravening the FCT building code.
“We have a complaint about a building in Guzape that trespassed into my client‘s rights. We are urging the appropriate authority to take appropriate steps to address the issue,“ he said.
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