Experts speak on legality of proposed revocation of land titles in FCT by Minister
By Joel Oladele, Abuja
Following the inauguration of Ministers earlier cleared by the Senate to form President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet, the new Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike dropped a bombshell which has since thrown some Abuja residents into panic.
While many other Ministers were reeling out an agenda that appealed to the majority of people, Wike who has always been known for his uncompromising confidence did not hesitate to announce his intention to sanitise the Capital City by getting rid of structures put in place contrary to the master plans of the city.
Some residents have said Wike may be another Nasir El-Rufai, who was the FCT Minister between 2003 and 2007 whose impact brought some level of sanity to city.
There have been complaints from different quarters that the FCT is fast losing the befitting look expected of a capital city as nothing serious was done by the last administration regarding that.
Wike, however, said he’s ready to step on toes while threatening to pull down any illegal structure regardless of whose it is if that’s what it costs for the FCT to stand out as the real capital city of Nigeria.
Information has it that over 6,000 buildings within Abuja may be demolished with the new policy and the buildings spread across places like: Garki, Garki Village, Gishiri, Idu, Apo Mechanic Village, Jabi, Kado Village, Karmo, Durumi, Nyanya, Karu, Byanzhin, Dawaki, Gwagwalape, among others.
The former Governor of Rivers State among other things stated he will revoke titles to lands which are yet to be developed by the holders and be given to those ready to develop it.
Wike said, “All those people who are distorting the master plan of Abuja, too bad. If you know you have built where you are not supposed to build, it will go down. Be you a minister of anywhere, be you an ambassador, if you know you have developed where you were not supposed to develop, your house must go down.
“Those who have taken over the green areas to build; sorry, our parks must come back, the green areas must come back. If you hate green, you must hate yourself.”
He added, “And those that the government has given C of O (Certificate of Occupancy) or allocated lands to them, that refused to develop and use, and they are becoming land speculators, the land is gone. I’m going to revoke them. We will take back our land and give to those who want to develop, and you must sign that you must develop at so and so time.”
Wike also stated that he won’t waste time issuing demand notices before revoking land from ground rent defaulters.
“For those of you who also have refused to pay your ground rent; non-payment of ground rent is a breach of covenant. I don’t need to write to you to pay. So, if you have not paid, be it national whatever you call it, bank o, anywhere; big man o, sorry, I will not be tired to revoke.’’
“And all those who have left their old houses to be shanties for criminals; you are building houses for over 15 years, uncompleted buildings, now criminals have taken over the place, the government will take it back. All those uncompleted buildings defacing the city, particularly in Maitama and Asokoro, and Wuse, all those areas, I’ll take them back,” he warned.
The address by the new FCT Minister has raised a lot of concerns as well as concerns from residents in the nation’s capital as it has caused fears and many wonder the legality or otherwise of such revocation.
Speaking with Nigerian NewsDirect, an Abuja based Legal Practitioner, Ochima George said the FCT Act vests all the 8000sq. km. of the FCT landmass in the Federal Government, and the Minister has the legal power to revoke titles to land legally granted by a valid Certificate of Occupancy.
Ochima, however, noted that the Minister has no right to revoke a valid C of O by virtue of non-development of the land and he will be acting beyond his Legal authority if he does.
“The Land Use Act (LUA) Cap.202 (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria), 1990, governs all land in Nigeria including the FCT Abuja. The law vests the entire land comprising the territory of every State (except land vested in the Federal Government or its agencies) solely in the Governor of the State, who holds the land in trust for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians.
“An individual is granted a Certificate of Occupancy upon successful application and fulfilling all requirements, a grant of such Certificate is for a period of 99 (ninety-nine) years.
“However, for the FCT the lands are vested in the minister; Section 55 of the LUA empowers the Minister in matters of Administration of land in the FCT. The FCT Act vests all the 8000sq. km. of the FCT landmass in the Federal Government, invariably, the powers to administer land in the FCT are powers of the President which is delegated to the FCT minister.
“The Minister is acting on delegated powers of the President by virtue of Section 18 of the FCT Act. Consequently, under the delegated powers of the President, the Minister can allocate and administer land within the FCT in line with the provisions of the law.
“Apart from the Minister, no one has the authority to allocate land in the FCT. A Certificate of Occupancy is an instrument prepared at the Land Registry, signed by the Minister (the Governor, in the case of any state of the Federation), registered in the Land Registry, and given to the holder of a Right of Occupancy as evidence of a grant. The Land Use Act made provision for the issuance of a C of O over every grant.
“The question arises can the FCT minister revoke titles to land legally granted by a valid Certificate of Occupancy? The answer is Yes. However, can such valid certificate of Occupancy legally obtained be revoked by virtue of non-development of the land? The answer is in the Negative, the FCT minister has no such power where he does, he will be acting ultra vires,” He noted.
He went further stating conditions for the revocation of C of O as specified by the Land Use Act of 1978.
“The revocation of a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) in Nigeria can occur under certain circumstances, as specified by the Land Use Act of 1978. Section 28 of the Land Use Act empowers the Governor to revoke a right of occupancy earlier granted. The Act provides that the Governor of a state or the FCT minister can revoke a C of O for the following reasons:
“Public Interest: Section 28 (1) of the Land Use Act 1978 states that a C of O can be revoked if the land is required for public purposes or for public use, the provisions of Section 51 LUA outlines what constitutes public purpose which includes construction of public buildings, roads, or other infrastructure. Therefore, where a land falls under this, it can be revoked.
“Breach of the Conditions of the C of O: Section 28 (5) of the Land Use Act 1978, where the holder of a C of O breaches the condition/function stipulated for the grant, it can be revoked if the holder of the C of O fails to comply with any of the conditions attached to the C of O.
“Section 8, 9(3), 10 LUA expressly states these terms. Which includes where if the land is to be used for agricultural purposes, but the holder of the C of O converts it to a residential or commercial property, the C of O can be revoked. Therefore, where the purpose for which the C. of O is granted is violated it can be revoked.
“Also, Misrepresentation: The C of O can be revoked if it was obtained by fraud, misrepresentation, or other unlawful means,” the legal Practitioner said.
He added that where the FCT minister is satisfied that the holder of the grant of C of O has violated any of the conditions, he does not just go ahead to demolish or revoke the title but follow due legal process which is governed by the Land Use Act of 1978.
“Unless land is revoked in accordance with the provision of the Land Use Act such revocation is invalid.
“The procedures that must be followed include: Notice of Revocation: Section 28 (6) of the Land Use Act 1978; This provides that the holder of C of O is given a notice prior to revocation, the government must give notice to the landowner before revoking the C of O. While Section 44 of the Land Use Act 1978 outlines how the notice should be effectively served on the holder of the C of O.
“Payment of Compensation: Section 29 of the Land Use Act requires the government to pay compensation to the landowner for the land and any improvements made on the land. The amount of compensation is usually determined by an independent assessor appointed by the government. The land owner also has an option to accept resettlement to another location.
“Appeal: If the landowner is not satisfied with the revocation or the compensation offered, they can challenge the decision in court. The Land Use Act provides for a legal challenge to the revocation of a C of O.”
He therefore stated that aside the conditions for revocation in the Land Use Act, no Governor or FCT Minister can revoke for any other reasons.
Also speaking, another Legal Practitioner, Barr. Adekoya Olisa urged the Minister to approach the issue with patience as any hasty decision taken may consequently bring about many legal battles against the Federal Government.
“My take here is that the minister is too hasty to make far reaching planned action which may spring up a chain of litigation in court.
“I think what the minister should have done is to study the blueprint of Abuja master plans and see the extent of violation of it rather than act on a report he has not studied. It is only when he has done this and the extent of violation that he can roll his bulldozers against the violators.
“His statement could be seen as intimidation of those with legal rights among others. Legally, he still needs to write the violators and seek court order before embarking on any form of demolition,” Olisa cautioned.
