By Dayo Ayeyemi
PERTURBED by the increase in fake adverts on radio and Television stations on real estate products, the Executive Director, Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN), Mr Festus Adebayo, said the organisation is currently working with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to end the menace.
This is coming following the series of complaints by innocent Nigerians who became victims of fraudulent practices by fake real estate developers in Abuja.
This is also has to do with the lamentation by the FCT Authorities about the proliferation of illegal housing estates and other developments in the capital city.
It is on records that many accommodation seekers and investors have got their fingers burnt in the process of investing in real estate in Nigeria›s major cities of Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt, among others.
Decrying the unwholesome practices, where investing public are deceived or duped in their drive for real estate investment, Adebayo, who is the Lead Promoter of the annual African International Housing Show in Abuja, said his meeting with officials of FCTA revealed detail account of how some of these developers have been using fake documents to sell land to innocent Nigerians in some areas in Abuja.
“Just yesterday, I received representatives of Apo Hills Landlords’ Association who are victims of these developers in my office.
“I have the names but permit me not to drop them here.
“In the next few days, the victims will take over the premises of these developers then we will report them to you.We can not continue like this.,” Adebayo said.
He recalled how the FCT High Court sentenced a woman estate developer just last week.
Other members of HDAN want the government to mentioned the names of the take developers for prosecution.
“Conduct your due diligence and provide genuine details to the public “buyers beware,” they said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, has lamented the proliferation of illegal housing estates and other developments along Idu Train Station, Apo Tapi and Lugbe areas within the Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC.
Speaking at a news conference in Abuja recently, the Director, Department of Development Control, FCTA, Mukhtar Galadima, said the alarm became necessary due to spike in social media adverts by land grabbers and illegal developers of housing estates.
”Already, the department had served all relevant notices and had marked the structures, which at the appropriate time, its officials are going to embark on a massive removal,” Galadima said.
He added that the affected areas were not yet been detailed with design layout, but that people were carrying fake title documents that they were allocated by AMAC.
Galadima said that this practice was against the development rules and regulations to change building plans without seeking an approval to modify it.
He said that with the constitution of FCT Urban and Planning Tribunal, land grabbing and other forms of abuses would be reduced as defaulters would be prosecuted.
Galadima also said that developers of illegal structures and land grabbers would be made to pay for the cost of demolition and afterwards be handed over to Police for diligent prosecution.
The director said: “Our attention has been drawn to some areas of the city where people are developing without any title developments.
”And we want to educate the public and to inform them that some of these adverts are on illegal developments.
“As the department of Development Control in FCT, we found it expedient to adequately inform the citizens on the need to secure building plan and approval, to enable them develop in line with what has been approved.
Galadima reiterated that the department had served demolition notices to all illegal developers along the Idu Train Station, Apo Tapi and Lugbe Areas, where ”people were busy spending money.”
He cautioned unsuspecting Nigerians against subscribing to the housing estates, saying «these are illegal developments.»
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