The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has annulled 485 Area Council land documents in Abuja after they failed official verification checks and were confirmed to be forged.
The decision was communicated through a public notice issued by the FCT Administration’s Departments of Land Administration and the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS). The notice urged affected applicants and the general public to take note of the cancellations.
According to the notice, the minister approved the nullification of applications that “failed the necessary official checks for genuineness and have been confirmed to be fake.” The cancelled applications will be removed from the regularisation database maintained by the FCTA Departments of Land Administration and AGIS.
The notice provides a detailed list of affected applicants, including file numbers, layout names, and respective Area Councils. It emphasizes that the action reflects ministerial approval and serves as a warning to holders of these documents. The publication also notes it is “without prejudice to further notices and/or publications.”
The affected layouts span multiple districts across the FCT:
- Bwari Area Council: Ushafa Village Expansion Scheme, Ushafa Extension, Dawaki Extension 1
- Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC): Kurudu-Jikwoyi Relocation, Kurudu Commercial, Karu Village Extension, Nyanya Phase IV Extension, Jikwoyi Residential, Sabon Lugbe, Lugbe I Extension
- Kuje Area Council: Kuchiyako One
Under Nigeria’s constitution and the Land Use Act of 1978, land in the FCT is vested in the Federal Government. All titles, including Statutory Right of Occupancy or Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O), must be issued under the minister’s authority and documented through AGIS.
The FCTA has faced persistent challenges with forged or fake land titles, double allocations, unauthorized Area Council allocations, and fraudulent schemes involving forged signatures, certificates, and inaccurate survey plans.
Earlier in 2025, the administration intensified efforts to regularize Area Council land documents, issuing a 60-day deadline for submissions and compliance with statutory requirements. Non-compliance previously led to revocation of titles, enforcement of ground rent, C-of-O fees, and other land-use charges.
Unlike those enforcement measures, the latest nullification of 485 documents specifically targets forgery and lack of genuineness rather than issues related to non-payment or undeveloped land.
