Hundreds of corner shop owners at the Federal Housing Estate, Sharada, Kano, have raised concerns over disturbances by some faceless persons posing as authorities attempting to grab their plots of land.
According to a petition written to the Department of State Services, DSS, Nigeria Police Force, the State Governor, and the State Commissioner of Justice, and signed by the Chairman of the Committee of Corner-Shop Owners at Sharada Federal Housing Estate, Alhaji Sani Maikusa, and his Secretary, Hafiz Mato, the group alleged that operatives posing as federal agents have taken over the plots of lands.
The Committee warned that the actions of the fake agents are capable of creating serious civic unrest and creating a communal disturbance that will eventually truncate the peaceful coexistence the State has enjoyed.
“We, the undersigned, are holders of title to various plots/parcels of land designated as corner-shops and granted by the Federal Housing Authority at Sharada Federal Housing Estate, Kano State, and have remained in uninterrupted possession for over 20 years without any adverse claim by a third party or parties.
“Our various documents of title are still pending, valid and subsisting for 60 years and 99 years as the case may be, having paid all the initial processing fees and consequently awaiting the regularization and presentation to us of the approved building plan/permit to commence development,” the petition read in part.
They alleged that “some tribal chauvinistic Nigerians singled out the corner shops in Kano for confiscation due to greed and their desperation to covet our titles even though we have made various payments but some bad eggs in the FHA have failed, neglected or refused to do the needful despite all demands and entreaties and as of recent, attempts are being made to deprive us of our titles and re-grant title documents to political allies.”
“It is sad that despite a valid and subsisting order of the Kano High Court by Hon. Justice Abdu Maiwada Abubakar in suit No. K/137/2023 restraining all the
Defendants (Hon. Minister of Works & Housing, Federal Housing Authority, Bureau for Land Management, KANGIS, KNUPDA, Architect Suleiman, Unknown Persons from forceful taking over of our land, some shameless greedy persons have been duping unsuspecting buyers by reselling the same land to them and have engaged some questionable elements to re-draw new beacons on our land.
“We are a peaceful and responsible people and most of us are retirees and pensioners. We are not violent people, however, we wish to make it clear that we will fight with anything at our disposal to defend our honor and property. ”
“We are willing to sacrifice all to protect our hard-earned properties from thieves and immoral persons who are desperate to dispossess us of our lawful titles to enrich themselves shamelessly.”
They added, “We are calling on the God-fearing, conscientious men and women leading our State as stakeholders to stop this dangerous experiment which is attempted in Kano allegedly by the new management of FHA on tribal and religious grounds while leaving the land in other states in Nigeria intact.”
