Landlord raises alarm over threat to life by land racketeers

A 68-year-old retired civil servant has alarmed policemen over alleged attempt on his life by suspected land scammers after he thwarted their plans to sell off his property using forged title documents.

Abubakar Zira had written petitions to the Inspector General of Police, the FCT Minister, the Director-General DSS and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chairman calling for their intervention since 2018 but received no response.

Speaking to journalists in Yola, the landlord said having realised that some fraudsters might have forged the documents of a property located in Karu, he approached the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) through a lawyer, Tayo Jegede (SAN) to conduct a search on the property but the agency declined the request.

“I built the house around 2012/2013. In 2017, my attention was drawn to the fact that some people placed a banner on the building indicating that it was for sale,” he said.

Zira also alleged that his insistence on protecting his hard-earned property angered the gang who pursued him to his house in Yola and tried to intercept him along the road, putting his life in great danger.

In a letter to the Adamawa State Commissioner of Police dated 23rd December 2018 seeking for protection, Zira raised alarm about attempts on his life, saying he narrowly escaped death on 16th September 2018 as some people thronged his house.

Zira, therefore, called on relevant authorities to protect him from any possible assault and compel the FCT land department to cooperate with him, being legitimate owner of the land in question.

Credit: Daily Trust