The Katampe Extension Residents Association (KERA) has commended the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike for ordering the arrest of Alhaji Kabiru Sahara and demolishing illegal structures built on plots allocated to diplomatic missions, including Thailand, Bulgaria, Syria, Somalia, Serbia and Montenegro, Japan, Austria, Switzerland, Senegal, and the Palestine Liberation Organization, as well as Power Holding Company of Nigeria, for a 132/33KV power station in the Diplomatic Zone, Katampe Extension.
KERA Chairman, Mohammed Gimba, described the minister’s intervention as a “timely and courageous step” toward restoring the Abuja Master Plan’s integrity. The plots were allocated in 2008, but the developer allegedly grabbed and developed them, despite repeated warnings.
Gimba stated that Wike’s action has restored hope in the FCT Administration’s commitment to enforcing planning laws. KERA in a statement urged the government to: Recover lands reserved for schools, hospitals, police stations, and fire services, which have been converted to private housing developments, conduct a comprehensive land audit in Katampe Extension and enforce compliance with approved land-use plans.
The association pledges cooperation to ensure illegally acquired lands are returned to their original purpose, protecting Abuja’s master plan and residents’ quality of life.