Nyesom Wike
By Our Reporter
A staff of the Abuja Geographic Information System, (AGIS), Mairiga Hassan Shaharu, has been arrested by the police in Abuja amid a hunt for the source who linked information for FCT Minister Nyesom Wike’s alleged theft of Abuja land for his children.
Shaharu, who works with the Fresh Applications Unit of AGIS, was arrested on Tuesday afternoon by a team of police detectives, The Peoples Gazette reports.
His whereabouts remained unknown as of Wednesday morning, raising fears among family members that he could be facing torture or worse.
A spokesman for the police confirmed the arrest but said details would be provided later.
Shaharu’s department is responsible for processing new filings at AGIS, the agency that manages and verifies land ownership and asset records in the Federal Capital Territory.
Colleagues of Shaharu said they feared the minister would continue to “make mistakes” by targeting innocent low-to-mid-level officials who had no involvement in leaking the documents that revealed the scale of the minister’s alleged fraud.
Officials also claimed the minister has become increasingly paranoid and has been drinking heavily since the reports were published.
“He’s confused and moving fast, which is why he keeps making mistakes,” an official informed on the minister’s activity told The Gazette.
“He’s been drinking even more heavily now and cursing at everybody, including his wife.”
Wike’s wife, Eberechi Suzette Nyesom-Wike, is a judge at the federal appellate court. A spokesman for the minister was not immediately available for comment on the arrest.
Documents obtained directly from the minister’s office and published on 26 June and 1 July revealed that at least 3,822 hectares of land, potentially worth $6.45 billion, were allocated by Mr Wike to his two sons, Jordan, 25, and Joaquin, 23.
The revelations have sparked widespread outrage, with the minister blaming political opponents for leaking the documents.
Some groups have also appeared in the media defending Mr Wike, describing the reports as politically motivated.
In a related development, Wike has denied widespread allegations that he allocated lands to any of his children, insisting that the ongoing reports are another failed attempt at blackmail.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister of the FCT, dismissed the allegations as baseless and mischievous.
Wike vehemently denied the report, stating that he had allocated 2,082 hectares of land in Maitama and Asokoro to his son through a farming company, Joaq Farms and Estates Limited.
Olayinka accused unnamed political actors of orchestrating a smear campaign against the minister, adding that such efforts would not derail Wike’s ongoing developmental initiatives under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
“As usual, this sponsored blackmail has failed. Those seeking to blackmail the FCT Minister will need to put more effort,” he said.
“Nothing will stop him from continuing with his developmental efforts in the FCT in accordance with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda,” he added.
The media aide argued that the previous report alleging the allocation of 2,082 hectares of land had no solid evidence, stating that everyone, including the minister’s children, has a constitutional right to own property anywhere in the country if they meet legal requirements.
“Last week, it was unfounded and poorly carried out propaganda of Wike allocating 2,082 hectares of land in Asokoro and Maitama to one of his sons, even when no such land is available in the two districts combined.
“They used a document showing allocation of land for farming in Bwari Area Council to a company, JOAQ Farms, to justify the falsehood. This week, it is tales of allocation of land to another son of the Minister because documents showed allocation of lands to a company, Jordan Farms.
“Even though like other Nigerians, it is the rights of children of the Minister, his friends, associates and relatives to own lands anywhere in the country, including the FCT, provided all necessary conditions are met, as at today, no land has been allocated to any of the Minister’s children,” he said.
He further clarified that although land was indeed allocated to Jordan Farms and Estates Limited, the company is a legally registered Nigerian entity with no ties to any of the minister’s children.
“No doubt, land was duly allocated to Jordan Farms and Estates Limited, a company duly registered in Nigeria, with none of the children of the FCT Minister as directors of the company.
“That one of the sons of the FCT Minister is Jordan, and there is a company, Jordan Farms and Estates Limited is no reason anyone should conclude that the company belongs to Wike’s son.
“Records of ownership of the company are available at the Corporate Affairs Commission, and we challenge purveyors of these stories to publish the names of the company owners.
“For instance, my name is Lere Olayinka, and there is Lere Local Government in Kaduna State. Do I own the Local Government? Am I even from Kaduna State?
“There are companies like Jordan Telecommunications, Jordan Foods, etc. Are they also owned by Wike’s son?
” In the United Kingdom, there is Jordan’s Farms. Is the company also owned by Wike’s son?” Lere queried.
He also took a swipe at one of the minister’s critics, alleging political vendetta, stating, “Let that fellow from Adamawa State, who is struggling to get at the FCT Minister for supporting power rotation between the Northern and Southern parts of Nigeria, put more efforts.
“This is because, just like the one of last week, this one too has failed even before its commencement.”
