The house owners disclosed that many of them had yielded to the demands of the army captain out of fear of being victimised by him considering his position and influence in the military.
Some landlords in the Babban Saura area of Kaduna State have accused Captain Sahabi Mohammed, an officer of the Nigerian Army currently serving in Ilorin, Kwara State, of issuing several threats and forcing them to sell their houses to him.
The house owners disclosed that many of them had yielded to the demands of the army captain out of fear of being victimised by him considering his position and influence in the military.
But despite reporting the situation to various government agencies including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) since 2020, nothing has been done to tame the excesses of Mohammed, they said.
According to them, the army captain had taken over most of the houses on Sale Street in Kaduna metropolis, Kaduna State, while also making efforts to further forcibly acquire more property within the area.
“He wanted to buy a house near him recently but the woman who owns the house told him that she will not sell to him. He threatened and told her that if she didn't sell the house to him, anything could happen to her. Before she realised what was happening and moved her things out of the place, the army officer brought in bulldozers to demolish the house.
“How can a young captain in the army own so many houses and cars plus money? It is absurd,” a landlord in the area told SaharaReporters on Thursday.
Revealing that the source of wealth of Captain Mohammed was questionable, another landlord in the area, who spoke with SaharaReporters, wondered how the army officer made money to buy 10 luxury cars, including recent models of Lexus, Mercedes Sports Utility Vehicle, Mercedes GLK, Mercedes E350, power bike and several other expensive automobiles.
“Recently, one of his neighbours noticed two SUVs offloading three sacks and, in the process, one fell and money spilled out of it. When the soldier realised that the neighbour had seen the huge amount of money in the sack, he immediately told him to name his price, that he wanted to buy his house.
“We don’t know how much he eventually paid but the soldier forced the man to sell the house to him and ensured he moved out of the community. That is how powerful the soldier is and he has continued that style to intimidate and blackmail landlords into selling their houses to him,” another landlord in the community said.
Berating the EFCC, army authorities and other government agencies for doing nothing about Mohammed’s high-handedness despite receiving petitions from members of the Kaduna community, another landlord in the area revealed that they were worried and afraid of what next might happen to houses in the community if the army captain was not immediately checked.
“We have sent a petition to the EFCC since August 2020 and copied the Nigerian Defence Headquarters, State House, Aso Villa, Abuja, and Department at State Services Headquarters without any action taken on the matter.
“We wonder why the authorities have kept mute about the activities of Captain Mohammed and how he has been threatening every house owner close to his property in Kaduna.
“The authorities must do something fast about this issue before things get out of hand,” a leader in Babban Saura neighbourhood in Kaduna said.
Calls and a text message on the issue sent to the mobile number of the army captain offered by a landlord in the area were yet to be responded to as of the time of this report.
Also, calls put across by SaharaReporters to the Director, Army Public Relations, Onyema Nwachukwu, on the issue were not answered nor returned.
A text message also sent to his mobile line had yet to be responded to as of the time of filing this report.