The Real Estate Developers Association Of Nigeria, REDAN, has distanced itself from activities of land grabbers, urging residents of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja to be wary of the activities of the group.
The Association, while bemoaning the spate of land scammers in the FCT, said that innocent people have been unduly evicted from their homes and forced to give up their lands.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, on Thursday, the president, REDAN, Dr. Aliyu Oroji Wamakko, narrated that land grabbers in Abuja are encroaching on lands with impunity on a daily basis.
He also urged its members to comply with other Extant Laws on money laundering and counter-terrorism by reporting transactions as stated by the special control unit on money laundering and Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit.
He said: “A recent case was the ugly incident where seven suspects were arrested within Guzape II over land racketeering, who are bent on grabbing lands that do not belong to them. There are other pockets of cases where land grabbing cases occur.
“It will interest our audience to know that the majority of the land grabbers are not members of REDAN. This is because they do not want to be subjected to the Code of Membership of REDAN,” he said.
“As a self-regulatory organisation for Real Estate and organised real estate firms in the business of housing and estate development nationwide, we hereby state emphatically and categorically that we detest such anomalies.”
Wamakko advised that anyone who is interested in getting land should procure it genuinely by approaching the government or the owners and not encroach on land which is not legally acquired.
