Witness Testifies How El-Rufai’s Wives, Friends Got Plots Illegally

A prosecution witness in the trial of former Minister of the
FCT, Nasiru el-Rufai, Mr Sunday Idowu, insisted that the accused illegally
allocated plot 1201 to his family members.

Idowu, an EFCC officer who led the investigations which
facilitated the arraignment of el-Rufai and two others, said that the accused
revoked the land belonging to the PHCN and allocated over 10 plots to himself
and friends.

Arraigned with el-Rufai are
former Director-General of the Abuja Geographic Information System
(AGIS) Altine Jibrin, and its former General Manager, Ismail Iro.

The EFCC is charging the trio for abuse of public office and
illegal conversion of a land meant for the construction of transmitting/injection
sub-stations of the PHCN in Asokoro.

They were also alleged to have conspired and converted plot
3352 located in Maitama, belonging to NIPOST for the construction of district
post office.

el-Rufai is accused of allocating 10 plots of land in
Asokoro District in various sizes to his family members, including his two
wives, Hadiza and Hasiya.

The EFCC claimed that he committed the offence between 2003
and 2007.

At the resumed hearing presided by Justice Abubakar Umar of
the FCT High Court, Idowu also said that during the investigation, he did not
come across any letter from PHCN asking the FCT minister to reduce the parcel
of land.

Idowu, during cross examination by Chief Kanu Agabi(SAN),
counsel to Iro said that he did not come across any letter written by the PHCN
that it no longer required the land for a 330kva corridor at the site.

He said that it was not only the 10 family members and
friends of el-Rufai that were named as beneficiaries of the land allocation on
plot 1201.

Idowu said that the daughter of a former Executive Director
of the FCDA, Alhaji Mohammed Alhassan, also benefited from the allocation.

When asked on the role played by Iro in the act, Idowu said
that he and Jibril had failed to advise el-Rufai against the revocation, as
responsible public officers.

Idowu said that as stakeholders in the administration of
lands in the FCT, they failed to advise the minister to reverse the decision
and restore the land back for what it was meant for.

During further cross examination by Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN),
counsel to el-Rufai and Jibrin, Idowu agreed that the power to allocate and
revoke land in the FCT was vested in the minister.

He also agreed that a minister of the FCT and his/her family
members had a right to own land anywhere in the country.

Regarding the revoked NIPOST plot in Maitama, Idowu said it
was meant for a post office, but he did not know the terms of allocation.