AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NATURE OF RIGHT TO LAND AVAILABLE IN THE

FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY (FCT), ABUJA

In this piece, I will attempt to clarify the different rights a person can have in land within the
FCT and the extent to which they can be protected in case of any form of adverse claim or
trespass.

Introduction

Generally, land has been recognized as a primary source of wealth, social status, and power. It is
the basis for shelter, food, and economic activities. Access to land is governed by land tenure
systems of any country. Land tenure is the relationship, whether legally or customarily defined,
among people, as individuals or groups, with respect to land. With particular reference to
Nigeria, the Land Use Act of 1978 is the legal instrument which defines the nature of land tenure
system operating in Nigeria. It is important to note that the Land Use Act is one of the principal
laws of the land and it has the same force of law as the constitution by virtue of its incorporation
by reference in section 315(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as
amended). The Act vests all Land comprised in the territory of each state solely in the Governor
of the State, who would hold such Land in trust for the people and would henceforth be
responsible for allocation of land in all urban areas to individuals and to organizations for
residential, agriculture, commercial and other purposes while similar powers with respect to non-
urban areas are conferred on Local Governments. However, the Act made a distinction between
land in urban area and land in rural areas. Therefore, land in urban areas, the Governor is vested
the power to grant statutory right of occupancy while the Act vested the Local Government the
power to grant customary right of occupancy. Hence, the highest title a person can have in land
in Nigeria pursuant to the Land Use Act is rights of occupancy which is granted for a period of
time not exceeding Ninety-Nine (99) years. While the issue of grant is quite settled with regards
to the thirty-sic (36) states which made up the federation, the issue of grant and allocation of land
has continued to generate controversy within the FCT.

Allocation of Land in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja

A convenient of call in pointing out the peculiarity of the FCT in relation to land is the preamble
to the Land Use Act 1978 itself which provides thus:

‘An Act to Vest all Land compromised in the territory of each State (except land
vested in the Federal government or its agencies) solely in the Governor of the
State , who would hold such Land in trust for the people and would henceforth be
responsible for allocation of land in all urban areas to individuals resident in the
State and to organizations for residential, agriculture, commercial and other
purposes while similar powers will with respect to non-urban areas are conferred
on Local Governments.’
The implication of the foregoing is that the law intended that a different system be adopted in
relation to the FCT distinct and different from what obtains in the rest of the thirty-six (36)
states. However, despite the clarity of this intention and because of the division of the FCT into
six (6) area councils by the constitution each with its chairman, the impression was thus created
that the respective chairmen have the power to grant customary right of occupancy just like their
counterparts in the rest of the thirty-six (36) states of the federation. Hence, land under the
control of Area Councils were allocated by their respective chairmen until the grant was
challenged in court and the Supreme Court in the celebrated case of ONA v. ATANDA after
considering the provisions of Section 49(1) of the Land Use Act, Section 1(3) FCT Act and
section 297(2) of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) held that by the provisions of the
Land Use Act 1978 only the Minister of the FCT has the power to grant right of occupancy in
respective of any land in the FCT.

To further put the decision of the Supreme Court in to proper perspective, it is pertinent to restate
the laws upon which the decision is based. Section 49(1) Land Use Act 1978 provides that:

‘Nothing in this Act shall affect any title to land whether developed or undeveloped
held by the Federal Government or any agency of the Federal Government at the
commencement of this Act and, accordingly, any such land shall continue to vest in
the Federal Government or the agency concerned.’

In the same vein, the FCT is regarded as separate from the rest of the thirty-six (36) states of the
federation and as such the laws of these states are excluded from applying to the FCT. In
essence, the FCT is brought under the exclusive control of the Federal Government for all intent
and purposes. Hence, section 1(3) of the Federal Capital Territory Act provides thus:

‘The area contained in the Federal Capotal Territory shall, as from the
commencement of this Act, cease to be a portion of the States concerned and shall
henceforth be governed and administered by or under the control of the Government
of the Federation to the exclusion of any other person of authority whatsoever and
the ownership of the lands comprised in the Federal Capital Territory shall likewise
vest absolutely in the Government of the Federation.’

Section 297(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) outright
vest all land in the FCT in the Federal Government when it provides thus:

‘The ownership of all lands comprised in the Federal Capital Territory shall vest in
the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.’

The implication of the above cited judicial and statutory authorities is that ownership of land in
the FCT vest solely on the Federal Government. Based on the foregoing, the conclusion is that
customary right of occupancy previously granted is a legal oversight which was thus regularized
by making the provision for revalidation. Therefore, a community reading of Section 297(2) of
the Constitution, Section 49(1) and Section 1(3) does have far reaching effects on the ownership,
control and management of land within the Federal Capital Territory. It is beyond doubt that
complete dominion or title or for that matter, proprietary right over all lands that comprised the
Federal Capital Territory has become completely that of the Federal Government independent of
any other person or authority. The Federal Government has thus become not only clothed with
possessory right over land within the Federal Capital Territory but assumed exclusive right over
it as its owner, not just holding it in trust for the people as in the case of the State Governors or
Local Governments wholly and solely, devoid of any qualification or exception.

The Supreme Court while interpreting section 49(1) of the Land Use Act holds that it provides
that the provisions of the Land Use Act shall not have any effect on any parcel of land the title of
which is held by the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies. The title so held by the
Government of the Federation or its agency applies to lands whether developed or undeveloped.
Thus, land held by the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies prior to 29th of
March, 1978 when the Land Use Act came into operation was not affected in any way by the
provisions of the Act. Section 297(2) of the Constitution states in clearest terms that all land
comprised in the Federal Capital Territory is owned by the Government of the Federation.
Undoubtedly, nothing will affect the ownership of the land in the Federal Capital Territory that is
vested in the Government of the Federation. The provisions of the Land Use Act therefore do not
apply to the Federal Capital Territory.

Also, in the more recent case of the Incorporated Trustees of Chikakore Layout Landlords
Association, Kubwa & 2 Ors v. The Hon. Minister, FCT, Federal Capital Development
Administration (FCDA) and the Bwari Area Council, the Court held that Area Councils in the
FCT have no authority to allocate land. It is also clear from section 1(3) of the FCT Act that all
lands in the FCT vests absolutely on the Federal government of Nigeria who through the minister
of the FCT grants right of occupancy to persons it deems fit to hold same. It was therefore settled
that Area Councils have no power to grant right of occupancy to land in the FCT.

What Operates in Real Property Practice in the FCT

The question which therefore needs to be answered is: what is the status of customary right of
occupancy granted by the respective Area Councils before the decision of the Supreme Court in
the above cited cases? To answer this question, recourse had to be made to the general structure
of right of occupancy in the FCT. Lands in the Federal Capital Development Authority is
allocated directly by the FCT minister with Abuja Geographic Information Systems acting as the
administrators of the process. Abuja Geographic Information systems (AGIS) was established as
a computerized geospatial data infrastructure and a one stop shop covering all land matters in the
FCT including land acquisition and all land related revenues for the Federal Capital Territory. It
is planned to register real properties, owners of same, property transactions and taxes assigned
and paid.

With the decision of the Supreme Court in the above cited cases, the Federal Government
stopped the respective Area Councils from granting any customary right of occupancy and
further proceeded to cancel some allocations made by them particularly where such allocations
violate the Abuja Master Plan. However, not all right of occupancy granted by the Area Councils
were revoked. It is important to note that it is not only the realization of the constitutional
anomaly involved in the grant of customary right of occupancy that made the Federal
Government to stop the Area Councils from granting customary right of occupancy but also the
fraud which was being perpetuated by the land registries in the Area Councils wherein customary
rights of occupancy were granted to more than two (2) in respect of the same plot of land.

In order to put this sharp practice in check, the Federal Government through the FCT Minister do
not only stop the Area Councils from granting customary right of occupancy; but also provide a
system of revalidation for all the land previously granted by the respective Area Councils by
incorporating them into the framework of AGIS for the purpose of bring integrity into the
system. The process for revalidation started sometime in 2005. However, not everyone holding a
customary right of occupancy has applied for revalidation. Revalidation simply refers to the
process of submitting the customary right of occupation at AGIS and paying a specified amount
and then issued an acknowledgement of receipt of same with file no. The essence of revalidation
is that upon submission, the Certificate of Occupancy in respect of those land would be under the
hand of the FCT Minister even though the right of occupancy was customary and granted by the
Area Council.

Conclusion

Flowing from the foregoing, the nature of title a person can have in land within the Federal
Capital Territory are:

a) Right of Occupancy granted by the Minister of the FCT

b) Certificate of Occupancy which issued by the FCT Minister and the holder of a Right of
Occupancy has satisfied the conditions stipulated therein.

c) Certificate of Revalidation which is issued to a previous holder of a customary of

occupancy issued by the respective Area Councils, e.g. Abuja Municipal Area Council
(AMAC), Bwari Area Council, Gwagwalada Area Council, Kwali Area Council, Kuje
Area Council…

d) Customary Right of Occupancy, e.g. AMAC title, etc.

While the system of verification and carrying out due diligence in respect of lands in (a), (b) and
(c) above seems to be covered in a way by AGIS and the central geographic information
systems, that of (d) is no so certain and where the land in (d) category have not been revoked, it
may be that there exists another person who is granted the same land. Hence, it is always advised
that people steer clear of land in (d). Finally, the new practice for the grant of land in the FCT is
through a direct application to the Minister of the FCT through Federal Capital Development
Authority after paying the requisite fees.