The Federal Capital Territory, FCT, under the watch of Malam Nasir el-Rufai was characterised by massive demolition of structures to the chagrin of property owners and residents of Abuja alike (TheNEWS, 21 April, 2008 edition). With over 75,000 buildings demolished, a sizeable proportion of the federal capital city was negatively affected by el-Rufai’s rampaging bulldozers.
The Abubakar Sodangi probe should take this matter seriously.

Maureen Edobor,
Abuja.

Nasir el-Rufai, former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, cannot absolve himself of all the malpractices that characterised the allocation of land at FCT when he held sway.
Allocating a plot of land that measures over one million square metres to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s company at Gauje in FCT is
the peak of corruption by the quantity surveyor.

Hassan Alkali,
Kaduna.

Who will save Nigeria from the hands of corrupt and irresponsible leaders? It beats my imagination to read that former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Nasir el-Rufai’s families led the chart in the allocation of land at the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. Do they think they own FCT? The duo should not go unpunished if the probe panel finds them guilty of this offence.

Desmond Mekwuye,
Agbor.

That over 90 per cent of land revoked by Nasir el-Rufai’s administration were allocated to his and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s cronies, as reported in the story, goes to show that due process was thrown to the wind during the former minister’s tenure at the FCT .What makes the matter stranger is that the likes of former Senate president, Anyim Pius Anyim; Musiliu Smith, former Inspector-General of Police; Mohammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida, Abdulsalami Abubakar, Shehu Shagari and his deputy, Alex Ekwueme were affected in the wholesale seizures and destruction. Could it be that the land and property of these prominent citizens were confiscated or demolished to give the former administration a reformist outlook while unsavoury things were going on unabated? This is a big challenge for Aliyu Modibbo.

Femi Alade,
Lagos.

Malam Nasir el-Rufai is at last on the road tagged nemesis. Many hapless citizens of this country who were not fortunate to be connected to those in power wept and gnashed their teeth in anguish as the buildings they sunk their life savings into were reduced to rubble. El-Rufai must now be made to face the music so that he would know how it feels to be on the receiving end.

Olumide Oyedele,
Ikorodu.

Many of the properties seized under el-Rufai’s supervision were done without due consideration to the owners. These people suddenly woke up to discover that they no longer had a roof over their heads. No state sensitive to the plight of its citizens would have taken such drastic steps that turned people’s lives to nightmares.

Titus Ekpo 
Port Harcourt.

Let us not be deceived, we know that at the end of the day, el-Rufai is likely to walk away scot-free, even after all the dust that has been raised by the Senate probe panel. Some of those in the panel are likely to be his cronies who must have benefited from the unfair allotments in one way or the other.

Biodun Babaniyi,
Ilorin.

Many of the senators in the probe panel appear rather shallow. The questions asked by some of them show that they have not properly combed the records to adequately identify the shortcomings and illegalities in the el-Rufai property allotment scandal. Nothing will come out of the probe.

Michael Abdullahi,
Jalingo.

In a normal country, by now, Malam Nasir el-Rufai and his former master, Olusegun Obasanjo would be in jail for their various land deals. But in Nigeria, even the obviously guilty can shout and bark. But mark my words: a day is coming when all these will come to an end.

Jude Amaechi,
Lagos.

Shame on Malam Nasir el-Rufai, the Abuja whiz-kid who decided to render thousands of his countrymen and women homeless. The time of reckoning has come. I urge him to face it like a man. He should go before the panel and explain how the demolition exercise was planned and executed.

Peter Agwu,
Onitsha.

Your story on the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, laid to rest any doubt about his involvement in the fraudulent sale of houses in Abuja.

Grace Adebayo,
Ibadan.

The former minister of Federal Capital Territory, Malam Nasir el-Rufai does not appear to have a conscience. How can a man with blood running in his veins and arteries demolish houses and go ahead of allocate the same plots on which the houses were built to himself and in some cases, to Obasanjo. The earlier el-Rufai was brought to book the better for probity in Nigeria and justice for those whose property were brought down by his bulldozers.

Christopher Onumah,
Makurdi.

Did the former EFCC Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu see el-Rufai when he trampled on the Land Use Act to indiscriminately sell plots of Abuja land to himself, Obasanjo and friends? Thank God both men are no longer relevant. I expect the EFCC under the watch of Lamorde to start investigating el-Rufai with a view to prosecuting him.

Mercy Ojah,
Otukpo.

For four years that Malam el-Rufai held sway as FCT minister, he preached morality and rule of law. But little did we know that the man was selling Abuja to himself, his mentor and his cronies.

Nasir Musa,
Kaduna.

Many Nigerians lost their landed property to Mallam Nasir el-Rufai’s bulldozers. The former minister has murdered sleep and he will sleep no more.

Chidi Chukwu,
Awka.

If the EFCC has no evidence to establish a prima facie case against Malam el-Rufai, the blood of those whose houses he demolished and pushed them to their death is enough evidence in God’s court.

Suleiman Salau,
Abuja.

I don’t blame el-Rufai for demolishing people’s property illegally because he was simply carrying out Obasanjo’s instructions. If the head is rotten, the entire body is also gone. The Obasanjo administration did not pretend to value human beings. So why shouldn’t el-Rufai treat Nigerians as slaves!

Jack Oche,
Abuja.

It sounds incongruous that el-Rufai got his hands soiled despite his self-professed adherence to due process. This shows indeed that the beautiful ones are not yet born.

Hezekiah Olomu,
Akure.

Not all has been heard about el-Rufai’s high-handedness in office. Before the end of the Senate probe I believe more sordid revelations will be released.

Adamu Mohammed,
Sokoto.

I think the senators are just trying to witch-hunt el-Rufai because he either refused to award them contracts, allocate them plots of land or stepped on many toes when he was minister of the Federal Capital Territory. Nigerians should rise up to stop this show of shame being put up by the Senate.

Efe Omonode,
Benin-City.

That el-Rufai was allegedly involved in a messy contract scam is horrendous enough. No stone should be left unturned in making sure he is thoroughly investigated and, if found culpable, be prosecuted for his alleged role in the Abuja land deal.

Emeka Okafor,
Enugu.

Malam Nasir el-Rufai is a big disappointment to himself, his family, his local government area of origin and his state. A first class brain, he could get any job he so desired anywhere in the world with ease. I, therefore can’t understand why he had to mortgage his concience to please lesser minds by demolishing structures and revoking land already allocated.

Ernest Aboloma,
Port Harcourt.

El-Rufai committed more than a few wrongs in the name of restoring the Abuja master plan which, according to him, was sacrosanct. Now the question is: was it part of the master plan to award plots of land to members of his family and those of former President Olusegun Obasanjo?

Francis Akiotu,
Benin-City.

I wonder how Nigerians are easily deceived into believing that justice will be done whenever revelations keep pouring forth at inquiries like the Sodangi Senate panel probing land deals at the Federal Capital Territory during Nasir el-Rufai’s tenure. If our memories are not short, however, we would remember that nothing came out of those previously held.

Abiodun Shitta,
Iju-Lagos.