The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has announced the discovery of 189 fake companies in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
The said companies are said to have dubiously secured land allocations in the Federal Capital Territory.
The Registrar General of the commission, Hussaini Magaji, who spoke during a press briefing in Abuja today, said the discovery was made following a complaint from the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to verify the status of a non-existing company seeking land allocation.
According to him, the discovery of the non-existent company led him to investigate further, resulting in the identification of other companies.
Magaji stated that two individuals, one of whom is a lawyer, have been detained, and that an illegal association comprising personnel from the Abuja Geographical Information System, lawyers, and the commission has been discovered.
“Let me use this opportunity to inform the public that one of the major milestones achieved so far since I assumed office, is our ability to bust a cartel or a link of individuals that are creating havoc for the commission.
“This cartel creates companies through collaboration with some lawyers claiming to be accredited agents of the commission and staff of Abuja Geographical Information System to secure land allocations in the FCT, and we only knew this crime after a complaint from the Federal Capital Territory Administration asking us to verify some applications made by some entities, which turned out to be non-existent on our system.
“With the information available to us, I gave a directive on the issue, and we have so far identified 189 fake companies used to secure land allocation in the FCT. We have also facilitated the arrest of two suspects,” The PUNCH quoted Magaji saying.
Explaining their mode of operations, the CAC boss said the cartel manoeuvred the land process to make their applications for land allocation priority over existing applications aiding land fraud in the capital city.
The individuals involved in the criminal activity, he said, engage in the creation of fraudulent entities by colluding with certain lawyers who falsely claim to be accredited agents of the commission and staff members of the Abuja Geographical Information System. They proceeded to apply for land in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), employing manipulative tactics to secure priority status for their applications, thereby usurping lands that were already subject to existing applications. Their endeavours have proven to be remarkably successful until our recent discovery of their illicit actions.
“As of yesterday, we arrested two suspects, including a lawyer, and we are interrogating them to get more information and clampdown on other members of this cartel.
“In the course of our investigation and research, we found that the companies do not exist. With the collaboration of security agents, we arrested a suspect, and by arresting him, he has volunteered some information, from that, we have gotten a clue that something like this is happening and we are working hard to stop this menace,” Magaji added.
Speaking further on the vision of the commission, the registrar-general promised to increase the commission’s revenue base by sanctioning companies who fail to disclose their annual returns, amongst other penalties.
He said that increasing its revenue base would enable the commission to perform its objective as a world-class commission.
