Estate Developer Seeks Tinubu’s Intervention Over Illegal Demolition Of Properties In FCT

By Bukar BOLORI

An appeal has gone to President Bola Tinubu to wade into the destruction of some properties in Abuja.

One of the foremost real estate developers in the city, Engineer Success Obioma, the CEO of three companies, Praco International Ltd, Psalm 127 Ltd, and Peace Be Still Ltd, in an appeal over the weekend, called for immediate intervention of President Bola Tinubu over the demolition of his multibillion naira property in Abuja.

Obioma said the properties were developed in his quest to meet the housing need of the masses in the FCT, noting that he acquired, developed and managed properties for his numerous clients in FCT including high profiled Nigerians and politicians.

The real estate developer who alleged an unwarranted persecution by the perceived detractors, said the authority was misled to demolish some of his properties by seizing all his documents and titles, and getting property worth billions of naira destroyed.

The engineer, who narrated his ordeal and how his aspiration was frustrated and truncated to journalists in Abuja, said he had lost over N10 billion to demolition by Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA).

Obioma said he was incarcerated for over two years in the struggle to get justice over illegal demolition of his properties and that of his clients.

He equally lamented how authority of FCTA humiliated and frustrated him for over 20 years by seizing of title documents with destruction of multibillion naira property and even incarcerated him for more than two years and yet no hope in sight for a relief from unwarranted persecution by the authority.

Obioma, who said he had secured reliefs through court judgment over the release of his title documents, said the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike should know that the restoration of his title documents followed due process and he should release the remaining seized documents or restore them.

He said the committee set up by the FCTA as directed by the former president Olusegun Obasanjo cleared him of all allegations of possession of fake land documents as was being speculated.

He said that for the 20 years the matter lasted, no one could produce one victim of his alleged illegal land deals to could be brought out to testify.

He noted that the membership of the committee comprised of all department heads, directors and management staff of FCTA because they were looking for fake documents “as was being speculated by enemies of progress that I forge land documents to acquire lands. It gave me the opportunity to prove myself as an honest business man.

“For the 20 years the matter lasted, they could not produce one victim of my illegal land deals to testify.”

He urged the FCT minister to publish the committee report of 2002, publish the documents seized from him for the world to see how fake or originals they are.

He also said: “The minister should also ask the members of that committee who are still in service to explain how I was screened, my activities screened, and documents verified and they could not identify that there were no ministerial approvals covering over 200 plots they linked to me.

“He should also study the Federal High Court judgment as a lawyer to see that there was no stone left unturned by EFCC and their collaborators to prove their informants wrong.

“H.E. Nyesom Wike should be made to know that the restoration of my title documents followed due process and he should release the remaining seized documents or restore them.”

Obioma said this was necessary because his life was being threatened by his clients who believed that he had sold their land.

He said: “Yes my life is being threatened by those whose properties have not been restored. Most of them have waited since 2003 till date they are now asking, having been acquitted by a court of competent jurisdiction what else is holding their documents? They have been alleging that I sold them.

”The developer who is presently away in London to complete the PhD programme he abandoned since 2003, said he was ready to suspend it to pave way for resolution of the issue.

He said: “Yes am not in the country, but am ready to suspend what am doing here to come if my attention is needed by the minister as a solution to the confusion created by the demolition.”

He advised that: “The demolition gale should be checked so that investors would not lose interest in FCT.”