Abacha’s Seized Properties Must Be Produced – House Of Rep Tells Buhari

The House of Representatives has ordered the Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC) on landed properties to produce reports of all assets seized from former Nigerian leaders, especially that of late military dictator Sanni Abacha.

Ademorin Kuye, chairman of the ad-hoc committee on abandoned properties, said the House wanted a report on all assets seized from former leaders in and out of Nigeria, particularly that of Mr Abacha recovered by the federal government.

Mr Kuye gave this order when the executive secretary of PIC appeared at the committee in Abuja.

“We need to know the state of those properties and to also know if the properties have titles of deed,” he said.

The committee also queried the sale of federal government’s assets held in trust by the PIC, stating that the committee discovered that some of the properties the PIC claimed to have sold were either not sold or paid for, contrary to claims made by PIC.

He added that some of the seized houses which PIC claimed were vacant and still occupied.

He directed PIC to furnish the House committee with up-to-date reports of assets sold, the amount realised from the sales, those yet to be sold and those under litigation.

Mr Kuye asked that PIC state the amount remitted to the federal government from the sales with evidence of remittance, adding that all assets pointed out to the committee but not included in its first report should be forwarded to the House committee.

Responding to Mr Kuye’s submissions, the Executive Secretary, PIC, Bala Samid, said some people occupying government quarters had refused to vacate them.

He added that as soon as the occupants were approached for payment or to vacate the houses, they went to court to obtain injunctions restraining the PIC.

“We approached the federal government to report them, and the federal government said that we should give them time.

“We want to generate money for the federal government, but in the process, we are losing money; somebody is occupying government quarters illegally, and he runs to court to get injunctions,” Mr Samid lamented.

He said PIC was happy when the ad-hoc committee came on board, stressing that it hoped to get its support to get debtors to pay.