FCT Minister Nyesom Wike cancels 485 land documents in Abuja after verification revealed them to be fake, part of ongoing reforms

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has approved the cancellation of 485 land documents in Abuja after they failed verification standards set by authorities.

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The affected documents were nullified following an extensive review conducted by the Department of Land Administration in collaboration with the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS). Officials said many of the documents were confirmed to be fake.

In a public notice issued by the Federal Capital Territory Administration on Monday, marked as Batch I, applicants who submitted Area Council land documents were informed that their invalid applications had been removed from the regularisation database.

The cancelled documents span several Area Councils. In Bwari, affected locations include Ushafa Village Expansion Scheme, Ushafa Extension, and Dawaki Extension 1. Abuja Municipal Area Council districts impacted include Kurudu-Jikwoyi Relocation, Kurudu Commercial, Karu Village Extension, Nyanya Phase IV Extension, Jikwoyi Residential, Sabon Lugbe, and Lugbe I Extension. Kuchiyako One layout in Kuje Area Council was also listed among the affected areas.

Those impacted include organisations such as the Redeemed Christian Church of God and the Ministry of Justice Staff Multi-purpose Cooperative Society.

Under Nigerian law, all land within the FCT is vested in the Federal Government.

Certificates of Occupancy and other land titles must be processed through the office of the FCT Minister and formalised by AGIS.

The cancellations form part of ongoing land administration reforms initiated to address longstanding challenges, including forged documents, double allocations, and irregular grants allegedly issued by some Area Councils.

Background data show that between 2006 and 2023, only 8,287 out of 261,914 submitted Area Council land documents had been screened, representing just 3.2 per cent of submissions.

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The remaining 253,627 documents were pending verification, highlighting the scale of the regularisation exercise.