Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has nullified 485 Area Council land documents in Abuja, citing failure to pass official verification processes and confirmation that several applications were fake.
According to a public notice issued by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA)’s Departments of Land Administration and the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS), the minister approved the cancellation of applications that “failed the necessary official checks for genuineness, and have been confirmed to be fake”.
It added that the affected applications would be removed from the regularisation database maintained by the FCTA Departments of Land Administration and AGIS. The notice read: “This is to inform the general public, particularly applicants who submitted Area Council land documents for regularisation, 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 publication, which listed affected applicants by name, file number, layout and area council, stated that the action was “without prejudice to further notices and/or publications.”
The nullified documents span several districts and satellite towns across the FCT.
In the Bwari Area Council, affected layouts include: the Ushafa Village Expansion Scheme, the Ushafa Extension and the Dawaki Extension-1. In the Abuja Municipal Area Council, impacted areas 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 the Kuje Area Council is also listed among the affected areas.
Land in the FCT is vested in the Federal Government under the Land Use Act, 1978, with titles such as Statutory Right of Occupancy and Certificate of Occupancy issued under the authority of the FCT minister and documented through AGIS.
In recent years, the administration has grappled with fake or forged land titles, double allocations, unauthorised Area Council allocations and land speculation schemes involving forged certificates and inaccurate survey plans.
