Some illegal structures in Jos, the state capital of Plateau state erected without approval from the regulatory authorities have been shut down.
At least 17 people were arrested at a construction site located at the old Legislative Quarters along Bauchi Ring Road in Jos when task force officials led by the Commissioners for Information, Housing and Urban Development, Musa Ashoms and Joshua Ubandoma as well as the General Manager, Jos Metropolitan Development Board, Hart Bankat, had visited the site.
Ubandoma told journalists that the exercise was part of routine surveillance aimed at restoring sanity in the state capital and other places covered by the Jos master plan.
“We have given notices that all those in possession of government properties should return them. We have also warned all those erecting illegal structures in the state to desist from such practices because we want to ensure that sanity is restored in the state.
“The standard practice is that whenever you want to start a building, approval has to be given after you have obtained your appropriate titles from the Ministry of Lands and Survey. Unfortunately, this is not being done by some people. Nobody is above the law. So, all these people who are bent on going against the law will face the full wrath of the law,” Ubandoma said.
