THE Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) said as part of moves to address widespread land document forgery that has become an everyday problem in Abuja in recent times, has concluded arrangements of exploiting new ways of nipping it in the bud

Disclosing this in Abuja last week, Minister of the FCTA, Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar, who described the activities of those behind the gang perpetuating the forgery of Rights of Occupancy of plots in the Federal Capital Territory as unfortunate, said the Administration was already working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigeria Police Force to help fish out the perpetrators both within and outside the system.

The Minister who also warned that Area Council land allocation had been stopped since 2004, said any allocation after that should be seen as illegal, said Area Council Land title regularization would be pursued to logical conclusion within a short period of time, adding that residents must endeavour to report any suspicious person to the law enforcement agency because “we have to do it together to achieve better result in the interest of all because Abuja belongs to all us”.
The Minister who assured that the network must be broken and prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others whom he described as “undesirable elements” that may wish to emulate their nefarious activities in the name of making fast money at the detriment of innocent and unsuspecting residents, however cautioned the general public on the activities of the touts and to always conduct proper search from the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) to ascertain the authenticity of such documents.
According to him, “I wish to advise the general public to please conduct proper search in AGIS before any land transaction is consummated to stop or minimize the proliferation of forgery.”

Dr. Modibbo Umar who noted that the Administration was working towards synchronizing, harmonizing and standardizing all Land Use Codes as well as their definitions, said, “the government has embarked on this project with the aim of preparing standard Land Use Codes for use in all FCT Administration service departments”.
The Minister who disclosed that the FCT Administration would  soon organize a retreat for stakeholders that will be drawn from the Urban & Regional Planning department, Development Control, Engineering Services, Survey & Mapping and AGIS, reiterated that title documentation of Federal Government plots was being carried out geared towards preparing Certificates of Occupancy for all Federal Government plots in the Federal Capital Territory to protect them against any possible encroachment.