By Amos Joseph The owner of SINTAX Limited- Hosewire, Engr. Yahaya Gilima-Karofi has alleged that his property located on Yahaya Imam Road,...
By Amos Joseph
The owner of SINTAX Limited- Hosewire, Engr. Yahaya Gilima-Karofi has alleged that his property located on Yahaya Imam Road, Malali Kaduna state was demolished by agents of the Kaduna State Urban Property Development Agency (KASUPDA).
Karofi said the agents had on the 18th of October 2024 at 4 pm, pasted a demolition notice on his wall to vacate the house and remove all the buildings in 48 hours.
“My family and I were in the comfort of our home when we were startled by a loud bang on our gate at 11 pm. It was a traumatic experience for myself and my family watching a place we have called home for 22 years being torn down to rubble in a glimpse of an eye by armed soldiers and men wearing face masks,” he said.
He said after the notice was lasted, he made several efforts to reach the authorities at KASUPDA but being a weekend, it was not possible.
"I have been living on the property for 22 years, I am an engineer, and there is no way I will start building in a place without the relevant papers. About two months ago, the same agency sent a letter stating that it received a complaint from someone claiming ownership of the land. They asked us to bring our documents for verification, I sent my lawyer with the documents even though we were told that we were not aware of that person and that we were already in dispute with someone else claiming the land belonged to him when I had been on the land for 12 years and that the matter was before the court.”
“Some weeks after, they again asked for our documents, this time, I took them myself. We did not hear from them again after that until Friday when they placed the notice on my gate,” he said.
He said even the then-state Ministry of Lands, now Kaduna State Geographical Information Service (KADGIS) confirmed that he had the right papers using the date and signature, not the other person and asked that we perfect the transfer of ownership. “They also gave me an offer for a Certificate of Ownership (CoO) and the backlog of ground rent. I have all my documents in the case file before the court,” he said.
“I believe the issue is not only in this case because I don’t believe any government officer will just put aside the fact that a case is in court and act on it. The fact that I am a Shi’ite and the government is fighting Shia, they told us that we are occupying the house illegally. It’s the same way that they destroyed the houses of my fellow members and as a Shi’ite, I am not entitled to own property in Nigeria according to them. I will fight for my rights in the court of law.”
According to Jummai Ahmad Karofi, Engineer Karofi’s wife, “I was devastated, I did not think they would have the guts to come into a private residence and cause havoc.”
“I wonder if a law had been enacted stopping people from hosting celebrations in their homes. I did not rent a hotel, I did not go on the streets and I did not force anyone to worship the way I do, so why is mine a problem.”
The Assistant Director, Public Affairs, KASUPDA, Nuhu Garba, while responding, said the agency does not demolish structures that fulfill all requirements.
“The person occupying the land has no approval from the agency. Since he commenced the development of the property, the agency has issued him notices but he refused to comply and the land does not belong to him. The land is not allocated to him. We demolished the property because the owner claimed his land. If you check the documents, the land is allocated to somebody else, so I don’t know if somebody can build on another person’s land,” he said.
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