The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has nullified 485 Area Council land documents in Abuja after they failed official verification checks and were confirmed to be fake.
The decision was announced in a public notice issued by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) through its Departments of Land Administration and the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS). The notice warned affected applicants and the general public to take note of the cancellation.
According to the statement, the minister approved the nullification of applications that “failed the necessary official checks for genuineness and have been confirmed to be fake.” It added that the affected documents would be removed from the regularisation database maintained by the FCTA’s Land Administration Department and AGIS.
The publication, which lists affected applicants by name, file number, layout and area council, stated that the action reflects the minister’s approval and serves as formal notice to holders of the invalidated documents. It also clarified that the announcement was “without prejudice to further notices and/or publications.”
The cancelled documents span multiple districts and satellite towns across the FCT.
In Bwari Area Council, affected layouts include Ushafa Village Expansion Scheme, Ushafa Extension and Dawaki Extension 1.
Within the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), the impacted areas cover Kurudu-Jikwoyi Relocation, Kurudu Commercial, Karu Village Extension, Nyanya Phase IV Extension, Jikwoyi Residential, Sabon Lugbe and Lugbe I Extension.
Kuchiyako One layout in Kuje Area Council is also listed among the affected locations.
Land administration in the FCT is governed by the Land Use Act of 1978, with all statutory titles — including Certificates of Occupancy — issued under the authority of the FCT minister and documented through AGIS.
In recent years, the FCTA has grappled with cases of forged land titles, double allocations, unauthorised area council allocations and fraudulent survey documentation. Earlier in 2025, the administration intensified its regularisation drive, urging landholders to submit documents for verification amid concerns that only a small fraction of tens of thousands of submissions dating back to 2006 had been cleared.
The FCTA had also issued deadlines requiring compliance with statutory payments and documentation, warning that failure to comply could result in revocation or invalidation of titles.
However, officials indicated that the latest action specifically targets documents deemed forged or lacking genuineness, rather than cases related to unpaid ground rent, development breaches or other administrative defaults.
