Few days ago, the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, approved the constitution of a Judicial commission of Enquiry on land matters to review land allocations, documentations and suspected illegal land dealings in the State ‘in recent times.’

The Commission, HorizonTimes gathered, might not be unconnected with the recommendation of a panel set up by the office of the Ogun State Head of Service, following the discovery of massive frauds involving top government officials, including some cabinet members whose schedule of duties involve land administration in the State.

Very recently, HorizonTimes further gathered, the Department of the State Services, DSS, had quizzed and detained several civil servants and top government officials including the Surveyor General of the State, Surveyor Onososen and some Directors in connection with some alleged shady deals in the State.

One of the deals for which the suspects were quizzed involved a N120million fraud allegedly extorted from a Chinese Company, Hengda Nigeria Limited, by some staffers of the Bureau of Lands and Survey.

The alleged fraud, it was gathered, also involved officials of Physical and Urban Development Ministry and Office of the Surveyor General of the State.

The Company had in 2019, purchased a 35 hectare of land at Igboke Village, around the Sagamu Interchange along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway from a Successor-in-Chief whose name was given as Dare Awodele.

The same Awodele popularly called ‘Uncle D’ was instructed to process title documents including Certificate of Occupancy on behalf of the Company, for which an assessment of One Billion, Seventy-Six Million, Two Hundred and Eighteen Thousand and Six Hundred Naira, (N1, 076, 218, 600) was issued in the name of Hengda Nigeria Limited via a letter dated 15th July, 2020.

This was after 'several tens of millions', were allegedly extorted from Awodele, allegedly by the Surveyor General and some other unnamed Special Advisers to the Governor on Land Matters.

The Company, not satisfied with the huge assessment figure, while looking for ‘help’, fell into the hands of the waiting racketeers who have grown wings and operating within the Bureau.

They demanded N400 million instead of the N1.08 billion to process the land documentation.

One of racketeers involved in the deal, Ganiyu Abiola Abiodun, popularly called Atiku had notoriety in lands issues. He sometimes celebrated his 'promotion' to the rank of Director in the ministry. Atiku was never a staff not to talk of being promoted, but operated seamlessly in the Bureau, using government offices for his illegal deal.

Atiku later committed suicide after he was revealed to have been involved in so many mindboggling fraud allegations within the Bureau. Some of his collagues were arrested durin his burial in Oke-Ata area of Abeokuta.

(More details, including the details of others involved in the fraud allegation will follow in other parts of this report.)

Part of the mega fraud that was recently investigated, albeit, secretly, is the shady land allocation involving a top official of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, where about N400 million was allegedly involved and defrauded by some Directors of the Bureau.

HorizonTimes had gathered that a Director in the Bureau had sold a government land to a company where the top CBN official had interest, using fake coordinate to deceive the approving authority in the State. He was accused of approving the sales of the government land at the Ogere Trailer Park, using the fake coordinate.

The buyer, it was gathered, after the successful transaction in the first allocation, decided to expand the property. Not aware of the deal in the earlier transaction, another Director was said to have approached the approving authority for the approval of the second parcel of the land with the right coordinate.

It was the right coordinate in the second proposed transaction that reportedly exposed many illegal deals involving the topmost government officials, including the first illegal transaction. Many officers have either been placed on suspension or interdiction in relation to the alleged fraud.

Both Olalekan Omobo and Adewale Adedeji were placed on interdictions alongside the Surveyor General in relations to some of the fraudulent practices. (Details follows at subsequent parts of the report).

Another fantastic discovery, it was further gathered, which might have prompted the constitution of the panel, was another N200 million land fraud involving an estate manager from Ota axis of the State.

Meanwhile, part of what the panel is likely to uncover, perhaps if the terms of references will cover all allocations since the beginning of the administration, is the unprecedented and fraudulent rebate offered to some top government officials.

HorizonTimes gathered, for instance, that a particular corporate application worth N200 million assessment was reduced to less than N2million for a particular government official who falls within the bracket of approving authorities on land matters. The Governor, it was revealed, is not aware nor did he approve such rebates. Details of this is also expected to be unraveled by the panel.

 

How government policies brought back racketeering into land administration in Ogun State

Ogun State Bureau of Lands is notorious for massive fraud from time immemorial with many ranks and files in the ministry reportedly living beyond their legitimate earnings.

It will be recalled that the allegations of massive fraud characterized the same bureau during the administration of former Governor Gbenga Daniel. The allegation which prompted the succeeding government of Senator Ibikunle Amosun to set up a commission of inquiry on land matters.

Part of the issues resolved by Justice Abiodun Adeyemi led panel was alleged release of government lands to non-existing beneficiaries; allocation of lands and issuance of C of Os to allottees without evidence of any payments, resulting in enormous loss of revenue to the state government; allocation of lands and issuance of C of Os to unregistered companies; allocation of hundreds of hectares of state’s lands to private companies without payments and under questionable MoUs; amongst others.

- Former Governor Gbenga Daniel

The fraud in land administration during Daniel's regime were also perpetrated by topmost government officials, including the then Governor himself. The then Director General of the Bureau, Surveyor Gbenga Ogunnoiki described some of the fraudulent practices of the government then as ‘generational error'.

Following the recommendations of the Panel, Amosun's administration introduced a policy called the Home Owners Charter, a system of property rights protection through simpler registration and certification. The initiative, according to the government, was aimed at correcting the recurring issues in processing documents on landed property, by making it possible for property owners to directly process their Building Plan Approval, Certificates of Occupancy or other title documents within months.

It was also aims at aiding homeowners to regularize the legal status and documentation of their properties, whilst providing enumeration data for the medium-term planning of roads, schools, hospitals and other essential services.

The initiative also incorporated various regime of discounts including 66.6% discount on survey, 50% rebate on land charges, and a whopping 78% discount on a typical family bungalow.

At the end of the day, it was a win-win situation for both applicants and government. While Applicants got good deals, the programme was responsible for the upward record in the State Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) which was increased from about N700m by the Daniel administration, to an average of N7 billion monthly.

The policy stopped majority of title documents seekers from patronising the racketeers who had taken over the operations in the Bureau.

Secondly, Amosun's administration also introduced what was tagged 'crazy rebate' on land acquisition and registration as part of strategies at marketing the State to potential investors. This was announced during an Investors Forum in 2012 tagged 'Ogun, Open for Business'.

- Senator Ibikunle Amosun, former governor of Ogun State

While Agriculture enjoyed as much as 80% discount on lands, manufacturing also got as much as 60%, 75% for organisations including religious and educational institutions, while commercial including real estates got as much as 40% rebate.

Governor Abiodun discarded the policies

The Home Owners Charter programme which had thousands of applicants regularising their title documents with about five years and thousands of Certificates of Occupancies issued, was stopped, upon assumption of office by Dapo Abiodun's administration on an excuse that the process lacked proper data base.

- Prince Dapo Abiodun, the Ogun State Governor

The Secretary to the State Government, Tokunbo Talabi, said during a radio programme in 2019, that, "The Dapo Abiodun led-administration on assumption, appraised the viability of the Homeowners Charter and issues were raised, which included lack of reliable database and proper accreditation of beneficiaries."

The old practice of racketeering was strategically returned to the Bureau, with fake receipts, forgery of Governor's signature and Certificate of Occupancy by the racketeers, being the order of the day.

Not only were the policies discarded, new land charges, again, were approved and increased in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic in August 2020. This, again, energized racketeering in the land documentation process in the State, with the government losing a lot of resources.

From a copy of the template obtained by HorizonTimes, land charges were increased by as much as 300% in some parts of the State, while other areas had more. This practically re-energized the racketeers, many of whom are not only staff of Ogun State Government, they work in high offices within the ministries and agencies.

For example, the assessment of a standard residential plot in Lalubu area of Abeokuta which the administration met at N4.9million was jacked up to N12.96 million before it was later reduced to N9.072 million; while a commercial plot of the same size which attracted N9.72 million was jacked up to N29.16million and later reduced to N20.412million.

In a similar circumstance in Kuforiji Olubi within the same Abeokuta zone, an assessment for a residential plot of land which was N349, 920 during the last administration, was jacked up to N4.536 million, before same was reduced to N3.175 million; while a commercial plot at the same location which attracted N500, 256 was increased to N6.48 million and later reduced to N4.536 million.

In Ijebu-Ode zone, a residential plot of land in Sabo which had N226, 800 in assessment, was increased to N777,600 before being reduced to N615, 600; while the commercial plot in Ijebu-Ode/Epe road which was put at N972, 000 was increased to N4.7 million before it was reduced to N3.3 million.

In Sango Ojodu area of Ota zone, a residential plot which attracted N324,000 in assessment was increased to N7.42 million before it was reduced to N5.2 million; while a commercial plot in the same location which attracted N3.24 million was jacked up to N18. 513 million before it was reduced to N12.96 million.

Same is the situation in all the six zones that Ogun State was divided into according to a document signed by Dr. A. A Alabi, the then Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abiodun on lands (valuation), except for few areas.

This development, has not only crippled the documentation process and made same cumbersome in the State, it has inadvertently returned the racketeers to business. People now pay into wrong hands, fake receipts issued and at the end, Governor's signature being forged for fake C of Os.

The Certificate of Occupancy, which were signed and released in their thousands during Amosun's regime through the Home Owners Charter has now become a golden document in Ogun, Governor Abiodun has not signed, it was gathered from an impeccable source, up to 250 in the last three years.

Worst still, the Special Adviser and Director General, Bureau of Lands and Survey in the State, Aina Salami, just like many appointees, doesn't have direct access to Governor Dapo Abiodun, he gets directive from the Secretary to the State Government, Tokunbo Talabi, who was alleged to have been behind the increment in the land charges in the State.