The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that its operatives arrested the Director-General of Kaduna State Urban Planning Development Agency (KASUPDA), Ismail Umaru Dikko, over some regulatory issues at the agency.
GIOTV had earlier reported that the operatives of the EFCC, in the early hours of Monday, stormed the headquarters of KASUPDA and arrested the DG during a meeting with his staff.
KASUPDA, 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.
However, the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, when contacted, disclosed that Dikko was not “invited” for fraud but based on some regulatory issues.
Uwujaren, 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,” the anti-graft agency spokesman stated.
Meanwhile, a senior official at the EFCC headquarters disclosed that there were at least five petitions before the anti-graft agency against KASUPDA and its head.
The official, who spoke on condition of 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 EFCC operatives arrested the KASUPDA DG over his refusal to honour the invitations extended to him on three occasions in order to shed more light on the allegations.