Wike nullifies 485 FCT land titles

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, has approved the nullification and cancellation of 485 land title applications across the territory after they failed rigorous integrity checks. 

The move, part of an ongoing overhaul of the FCT land administration, targets applications submitted for the regularization of Area Council land documents that have now been confirmed as invalid by officials.

According to a public notice published in Vanguard newspaper on Monday, the Minister directed that these unsuccessful applications be immediately expunged from the regularization databases of both the Department of Land Administration and the Abuja Geographic Information Systems AGIS.

The FCTA confirmed that the cancellations were carried out because the documents failed to pass necessary official checks for genuineness, and the notice serves as a final guide for the affected applicants.

High-profile entities are among those hit by the sudden nullification. The list of unsuccessful applicants includes the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and the Ministry of Justice Staff Multi-purpose Cooperative Society, alongside several other organizations and individuals. 

Officials noted that the publication was without prejudice to further notices, indicating that the screening of the vast database is far from over.

The geographical spread of the cancelled titles covers major growth hubs across three Area Councils. In the Abuja Municipal Area Council AMAC, the impact is felt heavily in districts such as Sabon Lugbe, Lugbe I Extension, Kurudu-Jikwoyi Relocation, Kurudu Commercial, Karu Village Extension, Nyanya Phase IV Extension, and Jikwoyi Residential.

In Bwari, affected layouts include the Ushafa Village Expansion Scheme, Ushafa Extension, and Dawaki Extension 1, while the Kuchiyako One layout in the Kuje Area Council was also flagged.

The crackdown is a central pillar of the land administration reforms initiated by the FCTA to address a legacy of forged documents, double allocations, and irregular grants allegedly issued by various Area Councils.

Under Nigerian law, all land within the FCT is vested in the Federal Government, and all titles must be processed through the office of the Minister and formalised by AGIS to be considered valid.

The scale of the crisis being addressed is underscored by data released by the FCTA last year. Between 2006 and 2023, a total of 261,914 Area Council land documents were submitted for regularization, yet only 8,287—a mere 3.2 per cent—had been successfully screened at the time of the last report.

With over 253,000 documents still pending in the database, Minister Wike’s latest action signals a move toward a more aggressive vetting process to sanitise the territory’s land records.