FCT Minister Wike Cancels 485 Land Titles Over Failed Verification

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has approved the cancellation of 485 land tiltes in Abuja after they failed to meet the verification standards set by authorities.

The affected documents were nullified following a thorough review conducted by the Department of Land Administration in partnership with the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS). Officials confirmed that many of the documents did not pass authenticity checks and were found to be fake.

In a public notice released by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Monday, marked as Batch I, authorities stated that the invalid applications had been removed from the regularisation database. The notice specifically targeted applicants who had submitted Area Council land documents for validation.

“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 notice read.

The cancelled documents cover several Area Councils and layouts. In the Bwari Area Council, affected locations include Ushafa Village Expansion Scheme, Ushafa Extension, and Dawaki Extension 1.

Within the Abuja Municipal Area Council, impacted districts include Kurudu-Jikwoyi Relocation, Kurudu Commercial, Karu Village Extension, Nyanya Phase IV Extension, Jikwoyi Residential, Sabon Lugbe, and Lugbe I Extension.

The Kuchiyako One layout in the Kuje Area Council was also listed among affected areas.

Those affected include notable entities such as the Redeemed Christian Church of God and the Ministry of Justice Staff Multi-purpose Cooperative Society, among others.

Under Nigerian law, all land within the FCT is vested in the Federal Government. Certificates of Occupancy (CofOs) and other land titles must be processed through the office of the FCT Minister and formalised by AGIS.

The latest action was part of ongoing land administration reforms by the FCTA aimed at tackling long-standing challenges, including forged documents, double allocations, and irregular grants allegedly issued by some Area Councils.

The cancellations formed part of a broader regularisation exercise that has been ongoing for months.

The reforms can be traced back to last year, when the FCTA revealed that only 8,287 out of 261,914 Area Council land documents submitted between 2006 and 2023 had been screened. The vetted documents represented just 3.2 per cent of total submissions, leaving 253,627 documents pending in the system.

FCTA officials acknowledged that progress had been slow over the years, noting that 96.8 per cent of submissions were still awaiting clearance.