The senior management and the Board of Directors of the Jabi Lake Mall Development Company have expressed shock and disappointment over what they described as the unauthorised Naira Marley concert that took place in the outdoor parking last weekend, THISDAY reports.

Our correspondent gathered that the board has condemned this illegal action in the strongest terms, clarifying that the event took against express instructions given to the property manager, Broll , not to host any special events without their consent , during this COVID -19 pandemic period.

It was learnt that at a recent virtual meeting, the Jabi Mall management team had been reminded to continue the excellent work of ensuring a safe environment for both its tenants and customers as part of compliance with the NCDC guidelines and the FCTA regulations.

According to a source close to the shareholders, “Jabi Lake Mall was built in 2015 with the vision of creating a beautiful lakeside property that allowed the residents of Abuja to shop, relax, network and have fun. The mall was also designed to invigorate the local economy and provide a safe and comfortable location for retailers to sell their goods.

“As is typical for large properties like this, the shareholders selected a property manager who was paid to manage the property – Broll Property Services. Broll is one of Africa’s leading commercial property services company with operations in Angola, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Swaziland, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia. They are well known in the industry and we selected them on the basis of their stellar reputation,” the source explained.

The source disclosed that the shareholders have made special efforts during this COVID-19 pandemic period and donated to help support the building of isolation and treatment centres as well as in the education sector.

According to him, the shareholders were shocked to learn that a middle-level employee of Broll Management Company, for unknown reasons ignored express directives and the laws and regulations of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

This employee, it was learnt, took the illegal decision to host the event on the property without informing their superiors at Broll, and the shareholders only found out about this concert after the fact via social media.

“This event should never have happened and an independent investigation has been launched to gather all the facts,” he said.

Our correspondent has confirmed that the shareholders have moved swiftly and called an emergency meeting on Sunday and summoned the management company for a meeting on Monday. “Depending on the outcome of the investigation, Broll is likely to be fired as property manager unless it dismisses all its staff that are involved and cooperates fully with the prosecution. Shareholders intend to cooperate fully with FCT in taking all legal actions against the event organizers and sponsors,” the source said.

“Shareholders of Jabi Lake Mall are fully cooperating with the FCT Ministry and support any and all governmental action against all those who orchestrated this irresponsible that has marred the reputation of the Mall that has to date fully ensured a safe and healthy business environment for both the tenants and customers.

Shareholders main concern at this time is for the tenants — survival of their businesses and the employees’ welfare —as well as the comfort and convenience of their customers. Knowing that Jabi Lake Mall has pharmacies, grocery stores, food outlets and other essential services, they are working hard to get these stores reopened so the residents of Abuja are not inconvenienced.

Knowing that the current financial climate has already been a blow to businesses, they are working hard to get the mall reopened so that these businesses can continue to service their customers, generate revenue, pay their staff and pay their taxes,” the source added