Saraki, Ahmed Sold Land Meant For Courtrooms, Kwara Land DG Tells Panel

KWARA State Land Bureau Director General, Bolaji Edun, has told
the state Judicial Panel on Assets Recovery that the
administrations of Bukola Saraki and AbdulFatah Ahmed sold several
plots of land allocated in the 1980s for the construction of
courtrooms in Ilorin.

Mr. Edun added that the lands in theTanke area of Ilorin had
been allocated to the judiciary as part of the planning for the
state, but were gradually auctioned out from 2009 without the
government first revoking the allocation of same in line with the
law.

Edun was answering questions regarding a petition filed to the
panel by the state judiciary which seeks restoration of the land
amid shortage of courtrooms in the state capital. The judiciary
also complained of unlawful encroachment on the leftover of the
land by at least two occupants: Candidate Hotel and the Nigeria
Society of Engineering Secretariat.

Edun said the earliest state allocations on the land were made
in 2009 and the issuance of C of O started in 2013 while the Bureau
of Lands could not find the C of O of Candidate Hotel in its
record.

“The extension and encroachment seen at the hotel were not part
of the C of O granted. In fact, there is no record of its title in
our files,” he said.

Edun clarified that the entire land from Rhema Chapel around
Tanke Tipper Garage to Prince Gambari building in Tanke Iledu was
allocated to the state judiciary in 1980.

Also testifying, the Acting Surveyor-General of Kwara State,
Ibrahim Muhammad, admitted that the entire land belongs to the
judiciary, saying he could not find any file in respect of
revocation of the land from the judiciary.

On Wednesday, members of the Kwara State Judicial Commission of
Inquiry on the sales of government assets inspected the land where
Candidate Hotel and Nigeria Society of Engineering Secretariat are
built in Tanke.

Chairman of the panel, Justice Olabanji Orilonishe, had earlier
adjourned the ongoing public hearing for the inspection following
inconsistencies in the testimony of the chairman of Candidate
Hotel, Raphael Adunmo, before the panel.

During the visit, the panel found out massive encroachment on
the land, with existing judiciary structures for high courts
converted to poultry and the hotel’s makeshift bar.

The panel observed that Candidate Hotel and Nigeria Society of
Engineering Secretariat are built on the frontage of the proposed
Kwara State High Court in Tanke.

Adunmo, a retired Chief Town Planning Officer in the state, had
earlier denied building permanent structures beyond his approved
land but later admitted encroachment when the hearing resumed after
the visit.

“There was a publication in respect of the layout of the land
and I applied. I was given allocation and I have papers for my
allocation and C of O. I encroached on the land because it became
problem for my hotel. It used to be criminal hideout,” he
admitted.

Adunmo said he took over the structure when it became a hideout
for criminals after several reports to F Division Police Station
and the then Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Dr Bayo Ishola,
and others officials of the ministry without allocation.

KWARA State Land Bureau Director General, Bolaji Edun, has told
the state Judicial Panel on Assets Recovery that the
administrations of Bukola Saraki and AbdulFatah Ahmed sold several
plots of land allocated in the 1980s for the construction of
courtrooms in Ilorin.

Mr. Edun added that the lands in theTanke area of Ilorin had
been allocated to the judiciary as part of the planning for the
state, but were gradually auctioned out from 2009 without the
government first revoking the allocation of same in line with the
law.

Edun was answering questions regarding a petition filed to the
panel by the state judiciary which seeks restoration of the land
amid shortage of courtrooms in the state capital. The judiciary
also complained of unlawful encroachment on the leftover of the
land by at least two occupants: Candidate Hotel and the Nigeria
Society of Engineering Secretariat.

Edun said the earliest state allocations on the land were made
in 2009 and the issuance of C of O started in 2013 while the Bureau
of Lands could not find the C of O of Candidate Hotel in its
record.

“The extension and encroachment seen at the hotel were not part
of the C of O granted. In fact, there is no record of its title in
our files,” he said.

Edun clarified that the entire land from Rhema Chapel around
Tanke Tipper Garage to Prince Gambari building in Tanke Iledu was
allocated to the state judiciary in 1980.

Also testifying, the Acting Surveyor-General of Kwara State,
Ibrahim Muhammad, admitted that the entire land belongs to the
judiciary, saying he could not find any file in respect of
revocation of the land from the judiciary.

On Wednesday, members of the Kwara State Judicial Commission of
Inquiry on the sales of government assets inspected the land where
Candidate Hotel and Nigeria Society of Engineering Secretariat are
built in Tanke.

Chairman of the panel, Justice Olabanji Orilonishe, had earlier
adjourned the ongoing public hearing for the inspection following
inconsistencies in the testimony of the chairman of Candidate
Hotel, Raphael Adunmo, before the panel.

During the visit, the panel found out massive encroachment on
the land, with existing judiciary structures for high courts
converted to poultry and the hotel’s makeshift bar.

The panel observed that Candidate Hotel and Nigeria Society of
Engineering Secretariat are built on the frontage of the proposed
Kwara State High Court in Tanke.

Adunmo, a retired Chief Town Planning Officer in the state, had
earlier denied building permanent structures beyond his approved
land but later admitted encroachment when the hearing resumed after
the visit.

“There was a publication in respect of the layout of the land
and I applied. I was given allocation and I have papers for my
allocation and C of O. I encroached on the land because it became
problem for my hotel. It used to be criminal hideout,” he
admitted.

Adunmo said he took over the structure when it became a hideout
for criminals after several reports to F Division Police Station
and the then Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Dr Bayo Ishola,
and others officials of the ministry without allocation.