THE Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently caution and direct the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to immediately withdraw his threat to shut down 34 foreign embassies in Abuja due to unpaid ground rents.
The SERAP made the call on its X handle on Monday, June 9, warning that shutting down the embassies contravened Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The FCTA had revealed that the foreign missions were among the properties that had not paid their ground rents since 2014, with the affected diplomatic missions collectively owing N3,662,196.
Wike had on May 26 ordered the FCTA officials to commence sealing the 4,794 properties that were revoked due to non-payment of ground rent, spanning between 10 and 43 years.
President Bola Tinubu had intervened, granting a 14-day grace period, which ends on Monday (today), to affected property owners to settle their outstanding obligations.
The Director of Lands at the FCTA, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, revealed that defaulters would be required to pay penalty fees ranging between N2 million and N3 million, depending on their location.
Chijioke listed the defaulting embassies which include the Ghana High Commission Defence Section (N5,950); Embassy of Thailand (N5,350), Embassy of Côte d’Ivoire (N5,500); Embassy of the Russian Federation (N1,100); Embassy of the Philippines (N5,950); Royal Netherlands Embassy (N5,950); Embassy of Turkey (N3,350), and the Embassy of the Republic of Guinea (N5,950).
There are also Embassies of Ireland (N500), Uganda (N5,950), Iraq (N550), Zambia High Commission (N1,189,990), Tanzania High Commission (N6,000), German Embassy (N1,000), Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo (N5,950), Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (N459,055), Embassy of the Republic of Korea (N5,950), and the High Commission of Trinidad and Tobago (N
The list includes Embassy of Egypt (N5,950), Embassy of Chad (N5,950), Sierra Leone Commission (N5,900), High Commission of India (N150), Embassy of Sudan (N5,950), Embassy of Niger Republic (N500), and Kenya High Commission (N5,950), Embassies of Zimbabwe (N500), Ethiopia (N5,950), and Indonesia (Defence Attaché), which has an outstanding balance of (N1,718,211).
Others are the Delegation of the European Union (N1,500), Embassy of Switzerland (N5,950), Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia (N5,950), China’s Economic and Commercial Counselor’s Office (N12,000), South African High Commission (N4,950), and the Government of Equatorial Guinea (N1,137,240)
However, SERAP in its call, highlighted that Article 22, paragraph 1, of the Vienna Convention states that “the premises of the mission shall be inviolable”.
“Article 22, paragraph 3, of the Vienna Convention sets out that “the premises of the mission, their furnishings and other property thereon and the means of transport of the mission shall be immune from search, requisition, attachment or execution,” it added.
The ICIR reported that FCTA sealed off the headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Wuse district of Abuja, including other private and public buildings such as the headquarters of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, Nigerian Postal Service, and the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)T on Monday, May 26.
The FCTA listed 4,794 properties, which it said it revoked for non-payment of ground rent, some for over four decades.
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. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.