Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has been alleged to be notoriously taking over lands in several areas and reallocating them to his cronies, using “front companies” and rendering residents perplexed and homeless.
Documents from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) obtained by SaharaReporters on Thursday showed that the Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, Hon Kingsley Chinda, is a serving director in one of such companies known as Saravera Nigeria Limited.
It was alleged that Saravera and Aleed Construction Limited are two of the front companies being used by the FCT minister, Wike and under the control of Kingsley Chinda and one Adapoyi Akor, to reallocate revoked lands to himself.
SaharaReporters learnt that already, the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) is under pressure to investigate Chinda and Wike for land racketeering as calls have been going to President Bola Tinubu to probe the land matters.
“The Southern leaders council wants CCB to arrest Wike, Chinda over the leaked evidence of abuse of office, land racketeering and violation of the Code of Conduct Act. They are also demanding that President Tinubu should prosecute the duo and the House of Reps must suspend Chinda,” a source revealed to SaharaReporters.
“This is a documentary evidence of how Wike revokes innocent people’s lands like late Colonel Ogbebor and reallocates to himself using front companies managed and owned by his confidant, Kingsley Chinda, a sitting House of Reps member in violation of the Code of Conduct law and one Adapoyi, his agent,” the source added.
Top sources in the FCT Administration (FCTA) called for a probe and audit of all the lands revoked so far by Wike and reallocated.
“This is to unearth the dirty scandals like this Saravera company owned by Chinda and Adapoyi and used in cornering illegally revoked lands,” the source added.
SaharaReporters learnt that the second director in the company allegedly used for hijacking illegally revoked lands is Adapoyi Akor who also was used to execute most projects in Rivers State during Wike’s administration.
He is also said to be the contractor handling the present construction of judges quarters.
Another company in the land grabbing scandal is Garden City Mall, Port-Harcourt which is alleged to have ties with Wike.
“Nigerians are watching to see how DSS and President Tinubu will handle this smelly FCT land scam to either confirm or disapprove the rumour by Wike camp that the president is part of everything they do with peoples lands and his people are also beneficiaries,” another source queried.
SaharaReporters on Wednesday reported that residents of Life Camp area in the Federal Capital Territory cried out in response to Wike’s revocation of their land interests.
In multiple videos uploaded on X (formerly Twitter), the FCT officials were seen storming the community with a bulldozer to demolish the houses but they were resisted by the residents.
The residents claimed that there was a subsisting court order stopping the FCT administration from demolishing their houses and declaring the revocation of their interests as illegal.
Martins Vincent Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, a social media influencer, had said in one of the videos that the revoked land belonged to a late prominent military soldier whose family members are currently occupying it.
He said the FCT minister revoked the land and reallocated it to his cronies.
VeryDarkMan had said: “These people have been here since 1984 when they allocated this land to them. They have the papers and all the legal documents. Wike woke up just one morning and said he had revoked the land. That the land is vacant.
Verydarkman shares a video of him at livecamp roundabout where Minister Wike is about to carry out injustice against the family of the first ever cadet in Nigeria and pleads for military intervention
— Nigeria Stories (@NigeriaStories) December 11, 2024
“And now he has allocated it to these persons, I have the RofO and CofO to the people he allocated it to. He allocated it to SARAFINA NIG LTD. This same Sarafina is allegedly the person managing Wike’s hotel in Port Harcourt.
“The other person who has also share in the whole of this thing is the Head and the leader of the minority in the House of Reps. Now I am calling on the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, and the Nigerian Air Force because what is happening here today is total injustice.
“Why I am calling on you is that the person who owns this land, the person who has the legal documents of this land passed on just four years ago. This is family and his people and a whole community living here(currently).
“This man was the first cadet in the Nigerian Defence Academy. If this kind of thing can happen to him after he passed, this man is the man that carried the bullet in his body for years before he passed on, if it can happen to him, you that is current colonel, current general, and you can’t open your mouth to stop this injustice that Wike wants to do here. Mind you, tomorrow may be your turn.”
An X user, Jennifer Omosefe Duru said her uncle is one of the residents whose properties are being targeted for demolition.
The netizen shared a video capturing the moment FCT officials were about to demolish her uncle’s house.
“Imagine if my cousins were not around, that’s how Nyesome Wike would brought down my late Uncle’s sweat!! you people should help me and beg Hon Minister of the FCT to please don’t do anything he will regret in future. There are some things you don’t do. people live in,” she captioned the video.
Imagine if my cousins were not around, that’s how Nyesome Wike would brought down my late Uncle’s sweat!! you people should help me and beg Hon Minister of the FCT to please don’t do anything he will regret in future. There are some things you don’t do. people live in pic.twitter.com/LcFPa32Vzn
— Jennifer Omosefe Duru (@mamarolex) December 11, 2024