The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has revoked 4,794 land titles due to owners failing to pay Ground Rent for over 40 years.
The affected properties are in various districts.
They are; Central Area District (Cadastral Zone A00), Garki I (Cadastral Zone A01), Wuse I (Cadastral Zone A02), Garki II (Cadastral Zone A03), Asokoro (Cadastral Zone A04), Maitama (Cadastral Zone A05), Maitama (Cadastral Zone A06), Wuse II (Cadastral Zone A07), Wuse II (Cadastral Zone A08) and Guzape (Cadastral Zone A09).
Officials revealed that a total of 8,375 property owners have not paid their Ground Rent in the last 43 years, leaving a debt of nearly N7 billion as of the end of 2024.
Despite repeated reminders through newspapers and broadcast announcements since 2023, many owners did not respond.
The law requires that property owners in the FCT pay Ground Rent every year from January 1 without demand.
This obligation is part of the terms and conditions for land ownership under the Right of Occupancy.
According to the Land Use Act, failure to meet this requirement for 10 years or more results in the loss of the property title.
The government has now canceled the titles of those who have defaulted for a decade or longer.
Meanwhile, those who have outstanding payments for less than 10 years have been given 21 days to settle their debts or risk losing their titles as well.
