THE Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has announced that from Monday, May 26, it would begin taking possession of revoked 4,794 land titles in high-brow areas of the nation’s capital due to their owners failure to pay ground rent, which has been outstanding for periods ranging from 10 to 43 years.
The FCTA disclosed this on Friday, May 23, while briefing journalists in Abuja.
Present at the briefing were the FCT Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the Director, Land Administration, Chijioke Nwankwoeze and the Director, Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima.
“Ownership of the revoked 4,794 properties in the Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama and Guzape districts, had already reverted to the FCTA, and as from Monday, next week, the government will begin to exercise its rights of ownership on the affected landed properties.
“As usual, this will be done without consideration as to ownership of the affected landed properties. It will be purely in line with extant laws and regulations guiding the process.” Olayinka said.
The ICIR reported in March that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, approved the revocation of 4,794 land titles in the nation’s capital due to alleged non-payment of ground rent for over 40 years, which included the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national secretariat, Central Bank of Nigeria, and other Federal government agencies.
The FCTA emphasised that despite numerous public notices issued since 2023, some property owners continued to default on their ground rent obligations, even though such payments are mandated by existing laws.
Olayinka explained that a 21-day grace period was granted to those who did not pay from one to ten years, to pay up or have their land titles revoked.
Speaking at the briefing, the Director of Development Control explained that refusal to pay the ground rent violated the terms and conditions of the Rights of Occupancy granted, in accordance with Section 28, Subsections 5(a) and (b) of the Land Use Act. As a result, the titles of the properties in default were revoked in March 2025.
“We did say then that consequent upon the revocation of these titles, ownership of the affected properties has reverted to the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA). Therefore, from Monday, May 26, 2025, the FCTA will begin to exercise its lawful rights of taking possession of these revoked properties”.
He said effective from Monday, affected properties would be sealed off and access to them would be restricted, stressing that the FCTA would determine the future of the properties.
He said the FCTA had not been stopped by any court ruling from carrying out the decision, debunking claims that some property owners had taken the matter to court.
“It is important to state that payment of ground rent on landed properties in the FCT is founded on extant legislation. It is clearly stipulated in the terms and conditions of grant of right of occupancy, and it is due for payment on the first day of January, each year, without demand”.
The ICIR reported that a PDP chieftain, Bode George, accused the FCT Minister of crossing the red line by superintending over the decision to revoke the land in March.
Reacting, Olayinka had said his principal should not be blamed for the decision.
Olayinka argued that the party’s leadership, not Wike, should be blamed for failing to pay ground rent for 28 years, which ultimately led to the revocation.
He further claimed that the PDP was required to pay N26.9 million to obtain ministerial consent for the property’s purchase but failed to make the payment. Instead, the party sought a waiver from the former FCT Minister, Nasir El-Rufai, citing financial constraints, but the request was denied.
In December 2024, The ICIR reported that Wike revoked ownership of 762 plots of land in Abuja’s upscale Maitama district due to non-payment of statutory fees which affected notable figures like former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.