From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
The Kano State Government has denied the report that it sealed off the office complex of Barrister Nureini Jimoh, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria who recently won a case against the government.
The state government, in a statement issued by the State Bureau for Land Management, explained that the affected property situated at No C14/C16 Murtala Muhammad way belonged to Isiyaku Rabiu and Sons and not the lawyer.
‘Our concern is with the owner of the property and not with the tenant of the property,’ the government said.
The government, through a statement signed by Murtala Shehu Umar, Information Officer of the Bureau, stated that its committee on Land Use Charges. had issued a demand notice to the owner of the said property on the 14th September 2021.
It added that it also served the property owner with a warning notice a month after the first letter reminding him to pay the outstanding ground rent spanning from 2016 to date
The government noted that contrary to media reports that appeared to make the lawyer the target of the exercise, they sealed off over 30 properties in different parts of the state on the same Wednesday.
‘Also seven properties were sealed at Murtala Muhammad Way who were served with our demand and warning notices and were yet to respond,’ said the statement.
‘The committee will continue to seal any property that its owner refuses to comply with the Land Use Act,’ they said
‘As land custodian, our record shows that property in plot C14/C16 belongs to Isiyaka Rabi’u & Sons, not Barrister Nureini Jimoh. Our concern is the owner of the property not who is renting the property.
‘Kano State Bureau for Land Management is appealing to the property owners to come and settle their land charges,’ said the statement.