Airport Land Acquisition: Landowners Urge EFCC, DSS To Investigate Housing Ministry

Owners of land acquired for the proposed Abia State International Airport in Nsulu, Isiala Ngwa North, have called on relevant federal law and order enforcement agencies to investigate the Ministry of Lands and Housing.

The landowners want the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Department of State Services (DSS), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to delve into the deal concerning the airport land acquisition immediately.

Writing through their solicitors, they say there is more to the airport land acquisition deals than meet the eye, with officials of the Ministry of Lands and Housing orchestrating a brazen scheme to pilfer millions of Naira

The claims, detailed in letters seen by this publication, paint a picture of deliberate manipulation, fictitious beneficiaries, and the outright exclusion of legitimate landowners.

Barrister Austin Ukauzo Esq. who represents the affected communities contends that “Our clients have been systematically defrauded.

“Government records may claim landowners have been duly compensated, but this is a blatant falsehood.

“We have evidence of numerous individuals appearing on the compensation list who simply do not exist, receiving payments into fraudulent bank accounts. Meanwhile, genuine landowners have been either excluded entirely or shamefully shortchanged.”

There are indications that challenges include:

1. alleged inclusion of ghost beneficiaries using fabricated details,
2. payments made to individuals with no legitimate claim to land within the airport’s acquisition corridor – achieved through alleged boundary manipulation and false certification – and
3. the deliberate under-declaration of compensation owed to rightful owners.

These imply that whereas millions of Naira were earmarked to fairly compensate those displaced by the airport project, these have been diverted for personal and selfish reasons.

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The petitions demand a full forensic audit of compensation registers, a thorough verification against official land records, and the tracing of funds to identify the perpetrators.

Even with the weighty allegations trailing the transaction, the Abia State Government has yet to formally respond.

On the one hand, this has created more frustration for the landowners, but on the other hand, it has emboldened them to pursue the matter to its conclusion.

That conclusion begins with their call on the relevant federal agencies to wade into fullscale investigation into the Airport Land Acquisition deal.

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