Abuja pastor held for illegal sale of land

Speaking on the arrest, Secretary, Command and Control of the FCTA, Peter Olumuji said some persons had asked owners and occupants of illegal structures in the area to contribute money to escape demolition of their structures.

According to him, the Commissioner of Police had ordered an investigation and prosecution if the arrested suspects are found guilty.

He said: “Prosecution will serve as a lesson and deter others still involved in defrauding people who are victims of demolition in the area. This is something the FCT Administration will never tolerate.”

In his defense, Ibrahim refuted the allegations, saying he didn’t collect money from anybody to enrich himself. “The money was given to the Gbagy people who own the cashew plantation in the area. The land I sold to them to build, the money collected was to pay compensation to Gbagy people for the place they built”.

When asked if he was serving as an agent to Gbagy people, he said: “Yes, they own this place and the cashew belongs to them.

“I just joined them recently, so they are paying the money to them for cashews (economy trees), not for any other issue.”

In a similar action, Pastor Ayisa, who was allegedly fronting for FCTA, also denied collecting money to bribe FCT officials.