Court Restrains SSS, Bauchi Govt Over Alleged Land Encroachment In Firo

A Bauchi State High Court headed by Justice Aliyu Bin Idris has restrained the State Security Service (SSS) and the Bauchi State government from entering a vast piece of land located in Firo, Ganjuwa local government area.

Justice Aliyu Bin Idris gave the order yesterday after listening to an ex parte motion filed by Barr. Abdullatif Gwani Isa in suit No. BA/251/2026 on behalf of the landowners, Hajiya Fatima Abdullahi, Ishaq Mohammed Kobi, and Murtala Isma’il.

The plaintiffs filed the suit against the Bauchi State Ministry of Lands and Survey, the Attorney General of Bauchi State, and the State Security Service, Bauchi State Command Headquarters.

Barrister Isa told the court that the plaintiffs are the lawful owners of the vast land in Firo, having acquired title through lawful purchases and allocations granted by the Ganjuwa Local Government Authority.

He stated that since acquiring the land, the claimants had exercised uninterrupted ownership and possession, including farming activities and demarcation of plots for sale, without interference until the events leading to the suit.

According to the lawyer, in 2020, the Ministry of Lands acquired portions of land from several individuals, including the first claimant, Hajiya Fatima Abdullahi, to enable the SSS to establish a training school.

He argued that the earlier acquisition was limited to a specifically defined area and did not extend to the land currently in dispute.

Bar. Isa further explained that in 2024, the SSS expressed interest in purchasing an additional 208 plots from the first claimant.

However, after she submitted a letter of intent to sell, the agency allegedly failed to respond, prompting her to continue marketing the plots to members of the public.

The lawyer alleged that the SSS, acting in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Survey, later entered the claimants’ land without legal authorisation, notice of acquisition, or payment of compensation.

He said the agency had commenced installing beacons and demarcating the land, in what he described as an attempt to annex the property illegally.

Barrister Isa also alleged that agents of the SSS issued death threats to the claimants, warning that anyone who entered or worked on the land would be shot, thereby depriving the landowners of their possessory and ownership rights.

He argued that the land had never been lawfully acquired for a public purpose under the Land Use Act. He warned that unless the court intervened, the defendants might permanently dispossess the claimants of their ancestral property.

After listening to the submissions of the plaintiffs’ counsel, Justice Aliyu Bin Idris ordered the defendants to stop further entry, mounting of beacons, demarcation, or any other interference with the applicants’ possessory rights over the disputed land in Firo, along Gubi Dam, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice. The court subsequently adjourned the matter to 18 June 2026 for further hearing.