THISDAYonline

Armed bandits at the weekend broke into the offices of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation in Ilupeju, making away with unspecified amount of money and documents.

The burglary, according to the management of the corporation, took place at about 2.00 a.m Saturday. The alleged bandits broke into and vandalised offices of the General Manager, Board Matters and that of Chief Legal Officer. Other offices broken into were the Assistant General Manager's (Establishment and Personnel) and the cash office.

Briefing newsmen at the Lagos State Secretariat, Ikeja yesterday the General Manager of the corporation, Mr. Bede Anthonio, said the items stolen by the bandits include property and litigation files, agreement, title documents and senior staff personnel files and cash. Others were management and board meeting file and copies of letters of award.

He explained that during the incident the corporation's six secueritymen were physically attacked and tied up as one of them is still lying critically ill in the hospital.

Anthonio alleged that the burglary was in reaction to a series of activities going on in the corporation. He explained that LSDPC early this year started investigation on illegal sale of houses which interim police report revealed that 218 units of houses valued at N400 million were sold illegally.

The investigation which he said is headed by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, is closing up on some personalities involved in the ownership of housing units that have no record but yet exists.

The LSDPC boss also said the sack of 163 staff as part of its current restructuring did not go down well with some groups. He said some members of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations and Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employee, both under the leadership of Mr. Ayodele Akele and Mr. Abdulkadir Ibrahim, have been disrupting activities at the corporation before they were called to order.

He recalled that Akele was taken away for this reason and later released by the police. He reiterated that all staff sacked from the corporation were primarily not because they were members of certain unions.

Anthonio emphasised that Akele, a quantity surveyor, was sacked among others in his department for decline in productivity and which has been recurrent. He noted that with some staff have cooperated in repositing the corporation, others are bent on resisting it.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ayodele Akele has debunked the media report that he said that "Funso Williams will reinstate him in 2003." saying that he is too matured and experienced to make the kind of ridiculous statement attributed to him.

He noted in a statement in Ikeja, yesterday that it is only an imbecile that can derive joy in being sacked by one government and reinstated by another infinitum. "I am certainly not an imbecile.