The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says its operatives arrested the Director-General of Kaduna State Urban Planning Development Agency (KASUPDA), Ismail Umaru Dikko, over some regulatory issues at the agency.
Daily Trust had reported that the operatives of the anti-graft agency, on Monday morning, stormed the headquarters of KASUPDA and whisked away Dikko.
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The agency, led by Dikko, who was a Special Assistant to Governor Nasir El-Rufai before he was elevated to head the agency in 2019, has gained the reputation of Kaduna’s most feared agency due to its demolition of properties across the state.
When contacted on the development by Daily Trust, the spokesman of the agency, Wilson Uwujaren, explained that Dikko was not “invited” for fraud but based on some regulatory issues.
The EFCC spokesman, who did not give further details on the regulatory issues, noted that the issues Dikko was arrested for had been resolved.
“He was invited not for fraud but some regulatory issues with his agency which has been resolved,” Uwujaren said in a text message sent to our correspondent replying to Daily Trust‘s enquiry.
However, a senior official at the EFCC headquarters told Daily Trust that there were at least five petitions before the anti-graft agency against KASUPDA and its head.
The official, who pleaded anonymity, explained that the petitioners alleged that most of the pieces of land recovered after demolition were sold to cronies and people loyal to the Kaduna State government.
He added that the operatives “picked up the DG” over his refusal to honour the invitations extended to him on three occasions in order to shed more light on the allegations.
