The police in Abuja have arrested a civil servant amidst a frantic hunt for the source of the recent revelations on FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike’s, alleged theft of Abuja lands for his children.
Mairiga Hassan Shaharu, attached to the Fresh Applications Unit of Abuja Geographic
Information System (AGIS), was picked up by a team of police detectives on Tuesday afternoon, newsmen can confirm.
His whereabouts remained unknown as of Wednesday morning, fueling concerns within his family that he might be undergoing torture or worse.
A spokesman for the police promised to fetch details of the arrest and get back to reporters.
Mr Shaharu’s department frontloads new filings for AGIS, which manages and verifies land ownership and asset records throughout the Federal Capital Territory.
Mr Shaharu’s colleagues said they expected Mr Wike to continue making mistakes by arresting and punishing low-to-mid-level officials who had nothing to do with the sourcing of the documents that illustrated the extent of the minister’s fraud.
Officials also said the minister has become paranoid and increased his consumption of alcohol in the days following a first report by The Gazette on the matter.
“He’s confused and moving fast, which is why he keeps making mistakes,” an official informed on the minister’s activity told newsmen.
“He’s been drinking even more heavily now and cursing at everybody, including his wife”, a federal appellate court judge.
A spokesman for the minister was not immediately available to comment on Mr Shaharu’s arrest.
Recall that at least 3,822 hectares, potentially worth $6.45 billion, have been allocated by Mr Wike to his two sons, Jordan, 25, and Joaquin, 23, over the past year, The Gazette reported on June 26 and July 1, using land administration documents directly from the minister’s office.
The series sparked nationwide uproar, forcing the minister to claim that his political foes leaked the documents showing his allocations to his children.
Several unrecognised groups also held media rounds, defending the minister against what they purported to be politically motivated reporting.