Governments in some states of the federation have embarked on measures to check encroachment on infrastructure by land grabbers and speculators to avoid losing the facilities to the illegal occupants.
The infrastructure being bedeviled by the menace according to a News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) survey, include hospitals and school premises which are constantly being encroached upon by unauthorised persons.
In Plateau, the state Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Town Planning, Mr Yakubu Dati said people had encroached on public and private landed properties in the state, which he said the ministry in collaboration with relevant agencies had worked to resolve.
“We have had issues of land encroachment on the Plateau on public infrastructure and the moment we get such information, we deploy our officers who go out to map out the sites for necessary action.
“Land encroachment is when people try to develop property on lands that they do not have legal documents and rights to do so, this is wrong and the government would never tolerate it.
“When we map out sites of encroachment, the Directorate of Town Planning takes action to investigate and thereafter, invite the Jos Metropolitan Development Board to come in for dismantling or demolition if necessary,” Dati said.
He also said that the state had passed an Anti-Land Grabbing Law in December 2020 which sought to prohibit any person or group of persons from forcibly taking over landed property belonging to either a citizen or government.
Datti said with the passage of the law, land grabbers or encroachers were liable to prosecution in the court of law if found guilty of the crime.
The commissioner mentioned some government properties that had been invaded by encroachers to include the High Altitude Training National Stadium located in Rayfield, the University of Jos and Railway stands.
He explained that the University of Jos which had its land encroached upon by illegal persons around Naraguta Village, had since reclaimed its land after the necessary action was taken to recover it.
He also said that the High Altitude Training National Stadium site which had been encroached upon by illegal persons had also been reclaimed, with the ministry always on the lookout for future offenders.
Dati said individuals had also overlapped lands that did not belong to them, stating that when such things happened, the Survey Department officials were sent out to measure, map out and treat such cases.
He appealed to land encroachers/grabbers to desist from such acts, stating that it was a crime to do so, and that persons found in the act would be prosecuted.
He appealed to citizens to be wary of land speculators who sold lands that did not belong to them.
The commissioner also urged the public to always go to the ministry to authenticate lands and properties before buying them to avoid buying lands that were illegally sold.
In Kogi, the survey revealed that the menace of land encroachment has reached an alarming rate with lands of government-owned schools across the three Senatorial districts in the state being encroached upon by land grabbers among the host communities.
The State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Wemi Jones, told NAN that the rate at which public schools’ land were being encroached upon in the state was quite alarming.
Jones said that he had cause to lead a team from the ministry on several occasions on an inspection tour to the affected schools, and appealed to school land grabbers to desist from the act.
According to him, the team has visited many public schools including Government Technical Colleges in Ankpa and Idah at the Eastern zone, Oboroke in the Central zone, and Mopa in the Western senatorial district of the State.
He lamented that most of the schools’ land had been taken over by land speculators, including the school football pitch.
He said that the state government had on several fora urged the host communities of those public schools to halt the habit of encroachment on the school land, warning that government would take decisive action against the perpetrators.
The commissioner stressed that government was already taking steps to reclaim the land, and would do everything possible to recover all its encroached lands across the state.
He also said that the state government had started soliciting for cooperation of the paramount rulers of those communities to help to persuade the land grabbers to desist from the act.
.”If you build your structure on school land, no matter how beautiful it is, you are merely wasting your time and resources as far as government is concerned.
”Land speculators are deceiving themselves because you don’t have a land or property if you have built illegally on the school land, and the law is going to catch up with you very soon,” he warned.
Jones restated the commitment of Gov. Yahaya Bello to the revamping of the education sector, especially technical education in the state, and would do everything possible to protect its infrastructure from the land speculators.
Jones emphasised that the best way to halt encroachment on school lands was through the perimeter fencing of those schools, saying the state government was taking a step in that direction.
In Benue, the survey discovered that the menace is being perpetrated by unauthorised users, mostly on lands belonging to health institutions and schools.
The State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Dennis Ityavyar, said the state government had adopted proactive measures to prevent encroachment of landed property belonging to schools in the state.
To that effect, Ityavyar disclosed that all government and grant-aided schools in the state would be issued Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) to prevent encroachment.
He said that his ministry had already inaugurated a committee for that purpose.
According to him, the ministry has dispatched some of its staff to all schools that have issues of encroachment for resolution.
The commissioner also said that the committee would visit such places to make recommendations where necessary on the peculiar situation of individual cases for action.
He assured that the issuance of C of O’s would help to resolve such encroachments.
NAN, however, reports that the only airport in the state is the military one and is situated right inside the Air force Base, Makurdi, and is therefore, inaccessible for encroachment.
But at the State Ministry of Health and Human Services, a reliable source, who pleaded anonymity said the ministry had lots of issues bothering on encroachment.
The source cited the land belonging to Epidemiology Unit situated opposite the Benue State University, Makurdi second gate, as one of the lands being encroached upon.
Also, at the Benue State Hospitals Management Board, another source, who also declined the use of his name, said that most of the General Hospitals in the state had issues of land encroachment.
According to the source, some of the issues are currently being handled by the board, but that those that prove to be more difficult have been handed over to the ministry for mediation.
“I only gave you a summary of what the board is facing regarding encroachment.
“I cannot speak more than this because I am not authorised to speak officially on behalf of the board,” he said.
In Taraba, however, the State Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Pastor Gambo Ndafor, said there were minimal cases of land encroachment in the state.
Gambo said that such cases were mostly on Federal Government property.
He disclosed that all lands allocated for public usage had been gazetted by the ministry to check encroachment.
Gambo also said that the ministry was doing everything possible to ensure strict compliance with Town Planning rules.
The commissioner explained that the ongoing Jalingo township road dualisation and fly over project recorded minimal cases of encroachment on the Federal highway which he said, was immediately tackled by the state government.
He called on the general public to ensure the certification of the land allocated to them before carrying out any development on it.
According to him, Gov. Darius Ishaku has recently warned traditional rulers against arbitrary allocation of lands to individuals and groups.
“The governor has recently warned traditional rulers against arbitrary allocation of landed property within their domains to any individual or group without his approval.
“This is to guard against encroachment and future conflicts over land in the state.
“Therefore, any request for land must go through the Local Government Chairman who will bring the request to the governor before any land is allocated,” he said.
In Niger, the State Government says it is tackling encroachment on school lands through the School Based Management Committee (SBMC) and the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of each school.
Mr Habila Garba, Member (I) representing zone “B” on the Niger State Secondary Education Board, who disclosed this to NAN said: “we have cases of encroachment on lands belonging to public primary and secondary schools across the state.
“I think we have been able to resolve some of the issues through the SBMC set up by government in each school and the PTA,” Garba said.
He said that the SBMC had 17 members that comprised traditional leaders, religious leaders, members of the community and other interest groups within the school area.
He said that the SBMC and PTA were replicated in each public school in the state to manage the affairs concerning the school.
“I can not say how many cases of land encroachment we have settled so far, but I know that we have resolved many, while others are still pending,” the member said
He said that the state Ministry of Education would only act on the issue of encroachment when the school authority, PTA or the community made a formal report on the matter.
He also explained that the ministry and the board were making efforts to resolve the issue of encroachment in Day Secondary School in Mokwa Local Government Area and JSS in Shiroro Local Government Area.
“We have not been able to complete what we started in these areas due to the COVID-19 and security challenges,” Garba said.
He disclosed that the state government had resolved to fence public schools in the state to prevent encroachment on their lands.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in Nasarawa State have advised governments at all levels to fence their infrastructure in order to guard them against encroachment by some people.
They also advised individuals and groups who indulged in the encroachment on lands that belonged to the government to desist from the act “in the interest of peace and the socio-economic development of the country”.
One of them, Mr Solomon Emmanuel, an Architect based in Karu, urged both federal and state governments to fence their facilities across the country in the interest of peace.
” The only solution to the problem is for government to fence their infrastructure in order to guard them against encroachment by some people for the overall development of the country,” he said.
” I advise the governments to fence their infrastructure such as roads, railways, schools, hospitals and airports in order to guard them against encroachment.
“When they fence the facilities, it will be difficult for people to encroach on them and this will promote peace and development in the society,” Emmanuel said.
He decried the situation where government infrastructure were being encroached upon by some people, especially developers in the area.
Another stakeholder, Ibrahim Auwal, also advised the government to deal decisively with anybody that encroached on its infrastructure to serve as deterrent to others.
“Government should not fold its hands and watch individuals encroaching on its land for their selfish interests.
“They should take decisive action against any individual or group that encroach on their infrastructure to serve as deterrent to others,” he said.
Hajiya Zainab Alkali, a business woman in Lafia, expressed dismay at how government infrastructure were gradually being taken over by some people and urged the government to fence such property.
“Some people are encroaching on government lands because such lands are not fenced. The only solution to this menace is for government to fence its infrastructure,” Alkali said
Mrs Grace Titus on her part, advised people whom were encroaching on government lands to desist from the act, saying the habit was inimical to the peace and socio-economic development of the state.
Titus also urged Nigerians to jealously guard and protect government projects and property sited in their localities to ensure speedy development of the country. (NAN)
