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The Ekiti State House of Assembly has passed a law stipulating a five-year jail term for land grabbers to boost investors' presence in the state.
The Speaker of the Assembly, Adeoye Aribasoye, said this during a chat with journalists in Ado Ekiti.
He said, “The House of Assembly passed a law, the Property Protection Law, otherwise known as anti-grabbing law.
“What is novel about the new law is that every family land must have a designated account where the prospective buyers pay.”
He said noted, "The law has made the penalty stiffer. It was two years jail term before, but now, if you violate any section of the law, it is five years imprisonment and also payment of 10 per cent of the total value of the land.
“In addition, the person you have duped has the right to also engage you in civil litigation to recover the full payment of his money. That is exactly what we have done in the law.
“It is to arrest the menace of some of the fraudulent family land owners and some who call themselves ‘omo onile’ (land owners) in Ekiti State. Because we know that there cannot be investment friendly if we still have this menace in our land."
He added that the law would “ensure that people enjoy their hard-earned money so that they are not defrauded in any form.
“What we are proposing is that anybody who is not registered in Ekiti State cannot operate as an estate agent.
“We are proposing that you cannot operate as a surveyor without being a licensed surveyor in Ekiti State. You have to be a licensed estate valuer before you can work in Ekiti State. These are the ways we can arrest this social menace and activities of fraudsters in our state.”
In his remarks, the ERCAN Chairman in Ekiti State, Prince Olabode Ayeoba, noted that the state government’s collaboration would go a long way to address the issues in the sector.
Ayeoba advised the government “to consider coming up with low-cost housing units to serve accommodation needs and as well compel landlords to bring down the high rents.”
