Map of Borno State in North East Nigeria
By SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri –
Borno State Government has called on land owners within the urban and rural areas in Maiduguri and Local Government Headquarters to register their property, upgrade land titles and ensure proper documentation of the land before they loose their property.
The state government also warned residents of Maiduguri suburbs to desist from encroaching on Government Reservation Areas (GRAs), especially those complaining that it is their ancestral homes which have been reserved by government for further development.
The Executive Secretary of Borno Geographic Information System (BOGIS) , Engineer Adam Bababe stated this on Saturday during a press conference held in Maiduguri.
Engr. Babe explained that: “no traditional settlement in Maiduguri town has title. It is only assumed that such land has been developed since 1978 where titles are only given to land owners with evidence from the Bulamas (Wards Heads) and recently statutory certificates from Local Government Councils”.
“We have challenges. There is no work without challenges. The agency was a Ministry with Mal functional activities and unpatriotic staff that bastardized the land administration system leading high land racketeering at the expense of the government where government was losing lot of money into staff pockets
“When we came on board and met the system has been connected with complications of multiple land ownerships, lack of documentation, duping and non remittance of revenues generated. We decided to clean the system and introduced a standard and centralized system of operations and land administration.
” Where the sanitizing process revealed that in 2017, revenue generated was N14.6 million, in 2018 the revenue stood at N19.6 million while in 2019 it was N68.88 million, in 2020 December January it was N436 million and in 2021 it stood at N1. 42 billion by December. For 2022, our target is yet to be ascertained as it will be based on the 2922 which is just an budget estimate,” Bababe said.
He also dismissed reports making the rounds that BOGIS had N2.6 billion as budget proposal mentioned in the 2022 Appropriation Bill and compensation rate was N1 billion.
On issue of demolition in Maiduguri town, he added “, Wherever you see BOGIS in these areas considered as old settlements, it is because of rights of way issues which are being carried out. BOGIS is inky present there in new layouts but not in local or traditional locations or settlements within the town”.
“Sense of ownership has been given to them. Small grant is even expected to be given to the residents to encourage them to come forward to the office (BOGIS) to register their land and landed property for their titles according to standard and easy future references and documentation.
The Executive Secretary further said that the agency is working assiduously to renew and update Maiduguri City Physical Master Plan to meet up with the physical development, population growth and urbanization in line with the national and international standard as the law provides .
According to him, “BOGIS is reducing rent in ground rent in order to bring sanity into the land use and administration processes. This is why the Urban Physical Planning and Development Board is a unit under ministry/agency that design, allocate and approve land development. It also supervise or monitor physical structures development, planning, compensation and design in collaboration with the Physical Urban Development Board “.
“We also review and renew every 5 years ground rents. We renewed it last in 2020 and next will be in 2024. However, people have been complying and impressively paying their ground rents but not as expected . There ar still some delays here and there”, he said.
On issue of land or church or mosque demolition by BOGIS, the executive secretary, said: “We do our job according to the law and carry out demolition exercise after due process and protocol have be observed or applied on violated land or structures. And most of these properties are allocated as residential areast but later changed between the buyer and seller without proper documentation at the ministry in the past and now BOGIS. The property could have been sold and passed through many hands without records or opening of file and payment of grants as well with change in purpose of the land.
The Executive Secretary noted also that BOGIS only demolish structures that have violated the land use act and government policy in the state.
” We only enforce the law on behalf of the Government after following all the necessary due process and legal requirements including serving of notice, grace, consultations, dialogue and other steps.
” We don’t just embark on any exercise just like that. We are also human beings and have our spiritual inclinations. We are not out to fight anybody or organization but work within the our schedule of responsibility as government agency to ensure compliance and that is all,” Bababe said.
