Wike invalidates 485 Abuja land titles after failed verification
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has invalidated 485 Area Council land documents in the nation’s capital. The administration said this development is due to the documents’
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has invalidated 485 Area Council land documents in the nation’s capital.
The administration said this development is due to the documents' failure to pass official verification processes.
The FCT administration also confirmed that several of the applications were fake.
The decision was conveyed through a public notice issued by the Federal Capital Territory Administration’s Departments of Land Administration and the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS), which warned affected applicants and the general public to take note.
According to the notice, the minister approved the cancellation of applications that “failed the necessary official checks for genuineness and have been confirmed to be fake.”
It further stated that the nullified applications would be expunged from the regularization database maintained by the FCTA Departments of Land Administration and the Abuja Geographic Information Systems AGIS.
The notice, which lists all affected applicants by name, file number, layout, and area council, states that the action reflects the minister’s approval and warns holders accordingly.
“This is to inform the general public, particularly applicants who submitted Area Council land documents for regularization, that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory has approved the nullification or cancellation of applications that failed the necessary official checks for genuineness and have been confirmed to be fake,” the notice read.
The publication also notes that it is “without prejudice to further notices and/or publications.”
The affected documents span several districts and satellite towns across the FCT.
In the Bwari Area Council, the layouts impacted include Ushafa Village Expansion Scheme, Ushafa Extension, and Dawaki Extension 1.
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In the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), the cancelled documents cover Kurudu-Jikwoyi Relocation, Kurudu Commercial, Karu Village Extension, Nyanya Phase IV Extension, Jikwoyi Residential, Sabon Lugbe, and Lugbe I Extension.
In the Kuje Area Council, the Kuchiyako One layout is affected.
Land in the Federal Capital Territory is vested in the Federal Government under Nigeria’s constitution and governed by the Land Use Act, 1978.
In Abuja, all titles such as Statutory Right of Occupancy or Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) must be issued under the authority of the FCT minister and documented through AGIS.
In recent years, however, the administration has struggled with fake or forged land titles, double allocations, Area Council allocations that were not properly authorised or regularised under FCT law, and land speculation and syndicated fraud involving forged signatures, certificates, and inaccurate survey plans.
Earlier in 2025, the FCTA intensified calls for submission and regularization of Area Council land documents, noting that only a small fraction had been vetted and cleared against tens of thousands of submissions dating as far back as 2006.
The administration issued a 60-day deadline and public notices warning landholders to complete payments, submit necessary documentation, and ensure compliance with statutory requirements; failure to do so could lead to invalidation of offers or revocation of titles.
Other enforcement actions include revoking thousands of property titles in Abuja for default on ground rent, C-of-O fees, violation charges, and land use conversion fees, with enforcement steps beginning where final grace periods expired.
However, the latest move to nullify 485 documents appears tied specifically to forgery and lack of genuineness rather than non-payment or non-development issues.
Findings revealed that the supposed title owners are now running around to seek a solution to the development.
