But when the officials received N10million bribe, the demolished building is now being reconstructed.
Officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Abuja, have been paid N10million bribe to spare a building the government earlier demolished for being unapproved in July 2020.
SaharaReporters learnt that the FCTA Department of Development Control had demolished the building which is located in Sil Estate, within the popular Mbora District, saying it should be a green area for recreation.
But when the officials received N10million bribe, the demolished building is now being reconstructed.
The Director of the department, Muktar Galadima, who had led the team on July 15, 2020, had warned that the government would not allow any contraventions that could abuse the Abuja Master Plan hence its resolve to demolish such structures.
He had stated that his men brought down the sprawling building on Plot 4545 which was sitting on “a green area meant for recreation.”
“The area was allocated as a comprehensive development plot for residential purpose and the developer moved to site without necessary planning permit and built all sorts of houses. We noticed what was going on and did serve the developer and the structures all relevant contravention notices, and we moved forward and processed them for removal.
“This developer, called Sil Estate in Mbora, never sought for approval, and we did necessary markings and served him relevant notices but he ignored them. That’s why we had to go there and remove the basic ones sitting on a space designated green area, meant for recreational purposes,” he had said.
The FCTA had said the developer would also be arraigned in court, after the demolition of the buildings.
But checks by SaharaReporters revealed that the demolished building is now near completion and is a sprawling two-storey building.
A source informed SaharaReporters that the FCTA officials collected the bribe and secretly perfected a plan to convert the green area to accommodate the house for the developer.
The source said, “The so-called demolished building is being rebuilt after collecting money. They demolished it because it was a green area as stated by the director that came to supervise the demolition.
“The FCT director and his men took N10 million to allow for rebuilding. They collected N10 million to convert the green area to accommodate the house for them. And they said the developer was supposed to have been arraigned since last year.”