Although he never shies away from controversies, senior lawyer, Life Bencher and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Ezenwo Nyesom Wike is again in the middle of a controversy following his alleged link to the demolition properties to an Anambra politician and businessman, Chief Nicholas Ukachukwu in Asokoro, Abuja.
Nicholas Ukachukwu, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the SNECOU Group Limited accused Wike of ordering the demolition of his investment on 214 hectares of land in the Asokoro district of the city centre.
He disclosed that the demolition was carried out without any court order, despite two pending valid court orders from separate courts restraining the minister and the FCT administration from interfering with the property.
Africa Independent Television (AIT) reported that the property sitting on 214 hectares of land was demolished on Wednesday 27 March, 2024 in the presence of heavily armed security operatives including soldiers, policemen and personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
After about six hours, the buildings some of which had got to the window level and the fence had been pulled down and all that was left was a heap of rubble.
Speaking in an interview with the channel, the Anambra-born businessman called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and save the multi-million-naira invested in the property.
He claimed that the property was demolished because it was owned by an Igbo man, and not because the company violated any law, as all legal titles had been sorted and obtained before commencing development of the property.
Claiming that the demolition was done in bad fate, Ukachukwu said: “Wike called for a meeting over the land, we went with our documents after seeing what we had with our lawyer and other company, Sunrise which they gave part of that land. Wike said that there is nothing on this that the court should take its effect.
“After going around the land, in his normal ways of behaviour, Wike started shouting; how will they take all this land and give it to an Igbo man? Then, the next thing we saw was the demolition of the buildings without a court order.”
According to him, all the legal titles of the property had been obtained including two ministerial approvals, and letters from the immediate past FCT Minister, Mohammed Musa Bello.
He said, “We went through all due process including ministerial approval. We have the full final title document, letter of offer and Certificate of Occupancy.
“As I’m talking to you, we have not received any document revoking the property or even the reason for the demolition. The only thing we saw was the demolition, the title has not been revoked and we have not been served any notice.”
He insisted that the action of the minister ran contrary to two pending court orders restraining any action by the FCT on the land.
He said, “Two separate courts issued a different court order restraining him from tampering or doing anything in that property but all of sudden Wike now moved all the ‘caterpillars’ (bulldozers) in Abuja and went and started pulling those properties that we have invested billions into down.”
He called on President Tinubu to intervene in the matter to protect the rights of genuine investors and businessmen. “I am calling on Mr President, who I know has nothing to do with the tribe to call Wike to order or remove this man before he brings disdain to hisadministration.
When SaharaReporters contacted the spokesman for the FCTA, Mr Tony Ogunleye, for a reaction on the demolition, he said he had no information about the demolition.
Ogunleye, however, noted that the FCT Administration doesn’t demolish properties based on the tribe, religion or section of the country the owner comes from.
He said: “The truth is that I don’t know the details of this particular case. I don’t have details at all, so I can’t comment from an uninformed position in terms of what happened. But rest assured that I will find out.
“However, definitely there’s no way properties will be demolished because the owner or purported owner is from one section of the country or the other.
“No! The FCT administration doesn’t operate in that manner. Before any property is removed definitely they must have gone through due process. And that property must have violated one Land Use Act or the other. But like I said, I don’t have details of this particular case.”
In a ceremony at the Supreme Court Complex, Three Arms Zone, Abuja on 24th January, 2019, Wike was appointed a Life Bencher by the Body of Benchers.
The prestigious Nigerian Body of Benchers is a professional body concerned with the admission of successful candidates at the Nigerian Law School Bar Final Examination into the Legal Profession.
